Growing up, Winchester Style
by Jenmm31
Summary: My take on what it would be like if Dean and Sam had a younger sister, Katie, and all the ups and downs they encounter growing up. Each chapter will be a one shot of some moments when the Winchester siblings were younger (before the series).
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my very first fanfic ever, so please drop me a review. I'd love to hear feedback!  
I love reading sisfics and ispiltthemilk finally convinced me to post my own. It's basically going to be one shots of Dean, Sam, and their younger sister Katie growing up. I plan on them being different ages in each chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize I sadly do not own.**

Dean-17

Sam-13

Katie-8

Note: This chapter contains a spoiler from the end of Season 3.

John had been leaving his kids in run down apartments for longer periods of time now. Two, three, sometimes even four weeks. Dean was beyond old enough, and Sam was getting older, so the responsibility wasn't as much as before—at least that's the way John saw it. Katie had just entered this new phase where she seemingly discovered that the only way to communicate with Sam was by fighting. Sam just turned 13 and was a poster child for teen angst. So much for things getting easier. Dean's grades were falling dramatically and he knew his dad would kick his ass when he found out, but taking care of Sam and Katie came first in Dean's book.

The three Winchesters returned to their craptastic hotel/apartment from school a few hours ago and the two younger Winchesters got started on their homework. They'd been in this middle of nowhere town, Ohio for about 3 weeks now, and John said it'd be at least another week.

"DONE!" Katie yelled as she slammed her folder closed on the bed where she was sitting and shoved it in her backpack.

"Is it really necessary to yell that every single day?" Dean asked glancing over at her from the kitchen counter where he was starting to get dinner ready.

"Obviously it is, Dean. Otherwise I wouldn't do it every single day," Katie replied, smirking as she walked over to the couch. She plopped down and grabbed the remote. Flipping through all the channels (which weren't many), she finally settled on one.

"Turn it down. I can't concentrate," Sam complained without even looking up at her from where he was sitting on the floor by the couch with his school books sprawled all over.

"No way. Power Rangers is on and it's my _favorite_," Katie stated as if it was already a commonly known fact.

"Well I'm doing homework which is a million times more important than your stupid baby show," Sam replied.

_"Uh oh," _Dean mumbled to himself. He knew he should intervene, but for some naive reason, he thought maybe, just maybe, they would resolve this one themselves.

"It's not a baby show! The yellow power ranger kicks butt! Go somewhere else. I was here first."

"I can't study anywhere else because Dean is making dinner in the kitchen. Quit being a brat and just turn it down!" Sam threw an evil glare up at Katie.

"Make me!" Katie yelled back as she grabbed the remote and cranked up the volume.

_"Should have known…" _Dean thought to himself.

"DEAN! Make her turn it down!" Sam yelled over into the kitchen.

"DEAN! Sam won't leave me alone!" Katie yelled also looking over at Dean who still had his back to them, attempting to ignore all of this.

"I'm sure Dean can't hear you over all your baby whining," Sam retorted causing Katie to whip her head back and glare down at Sam. That comment was the last straw for her. Dean turned around to yell at both of them, but he saw that Katie had picked up the remote and had it locked and loaded to launch at Sam.

"Katelyn!" Dean belted out luckily before she threw it. She look over at Dean with her big, green, innocent eyes. _"Damnit with those eyes! She looks just like mom."_

"Dean, she was going to _throw_ that thing at me!" Sam said. Dean shook his head as Sam's voice drug him back to reality.

"I can see that, Sammy. Katie turn off the TV and get you ass in here and help me," Dean said in a low voice. The last thing he needed was to join in on this little bitch yelling fest.

"But Deeeeean. That's not…" Katie complained.

"Now. Don't make me repeat myself," Dean said. _"Woah, I think I could have just passed as Dad."_

Katie huffed as she turned off the TV and stood up. "HAHA," Sam mocked as she started to walk to the kitchen. Katie walked out of her way so she could step directly on Sam's homework, making the paper crumble beneath her bare feet. She smiled and was just about to consider this a victory when Sam retaliated and pushed at her legs. Katie lost her balance and fell back right on her ass.

"De-," Katie started.

"STOP! There will be no more fighting or tattling. I swear the next one of you that fights is getting spanked. So knock it off and apologize. Do you understand me?" Dean yelled. _ "So much for keeping my cool."_

Dean had really been channeling their Dad lately. He always felt the need to ask if they understood at the end. One of these days Katie was going to say no, but today she really didn't feel like taking Dean up on his threat. Instead both Sam and Katie nodded at Dean and turned to each other.

"Sorry," they both said in unison through clenched teeth. Dean knew neither of them meant it, but it would have to be good enough for now.

"Now, Katie set the table please," Dean pointed towards the plates as he turned back around to finish tonight's dinner of macaroni and cheese, a Winchester staple. Katie picked herself up and made her way to the kitchen. Dean finished "cooking" and called Sam over. They finally all sat down to eat.

"So how was your day?" Dean asked looking over at Katie, thinking some small talk might lighten the mood and tension.

"Mine was fine until I got home and had to be in the same room as It," she said motioning her head toward Sam. "Ouch!" she screeched. "Sammy kicked me!"

Dean put down his fork and ran his hand over his face and through his hair. How did his dad handle this? Oh wait, he really didn't. It was all him now and he had no idea how he was going to make it. "Enough. I want a peaceful dinner. Nobody will talk or touch the other. I am going to enjoy a quiet meal. And when we're done, you both will be cleaning up together. Without fighting. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes sir," Katie said.

"Yeah," Sam replied. Dean gave him a stern look and he knew exactly why. He hated how they always had to treat Dean with so much respect. He was supposed to be their brother, not an authority figure. The 'chain of command' was bogus. "Yessir," he mumbled.

They ate the rest of their meal in complete silence. It sounded almost better than any AC/DC song to Dean's ears. The silence was actually good for Katie too. She was forced to think due to a lack of other distractions. And she felt guilty. Guilt always got to her one way or another. Damn that Winchester trait. At just 8 years old, she still had an air of innocence about her and her feelings weren't 50 levels of complicated yet. She looked over at Dean and saw his face. He just looked exhausted and worn out. She knew Sam and she played a big role in that.

Katie finished eating and went to put her plates in the sink. She went back to the table and pushed and wiggled her way onto Dean's lap. She knew that she was breaking the second Winchester Commandment of avoiding chick flick moments like the plague (the first being that nobody in any way, shape, or form shall impart any harm on his Baby and live after). But she also knew that somewhere deep down inside he reserved a soft spot for her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "I'm sorry Dean-O. Please don't me mad at me and Sammy."

Even though he would never EVER admit it, his heart might have slightly melted a tad bit. All his anger and frustration went away and he even let a small smile escape his lips for the first time that day. He quickly kissed the top of her head and put her down.

"Come on Sammy face. Let's get a washin'," Katie said as went over to the sink.

Sam touched his chin just to make sure his jaw hadn't really dropped to the floor. _"Did hell just freeze over or did Dean just partake in a chick flick-esque moment?"_ he thought to himself. He blinked a few times and came out of his thoughts. "Don't call me Sammy!" he said as went over to Katie and began to tickle her.

"hahahaha..Deeeaaa….hahaha…nnn…help…hahha…meeee…," she squealed. Dean walked over and scooped her up in his arms.

"Here Sammy, this should make it easier for ya," he said with a huge grin on his face. Sam went on tickling her with no mercy. Dean finally felt like they were just three siblings having fun together, instead of him always having to play the responsible, authoritative one.

The smiles on all of their faces and the laughter that filled the room from that evening was the last thing that ran through Dean's mind before the light slowly went out in his eyes and his soul was dragged to hell.

**A/N: What did you think? I rewrote the last paragraph so many times, but I'm still not sure if it came out right. Please review and let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading! :)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews and follows! You guys made my day! Hope you enjoy this chapter…and don't forget to review :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Kate.**

Dean-22

Sam-18

Kate-13

Sam and Kate met up outside the main doors like they always did after school. Kate closed her eyes and turned her head upwards attempting to take in the warmth of the spring sun. Being inside all day made you appreciate the simple things in life, like natural light. Sam scanned the parking lot for the infamous Impala. "Come on," he said as he pulled on her arm, ruining her sun happiness. He took off walking and Kate had to practically jog to keep up with his gigantic strides. Once they got over to the car, Sam got in the front seat and Kate in the back, as was their usual routine.

"Ugh, dude we were _just _listening to this song on the way to school!" Sam said as he reached over to eject the cassette tape, but Dean beat him there and smacked his hand away.

"Sammy, they are called classics for a reason. It means they're here to stay," Dean replied grinning as he put the car in gear and started their short drive back 'home'. Sam rolled his eyes and turned to look out the window.

"Dean, can we stop by the CVS on the way home?" Kate piped up from the backseat.

Dean suddenly shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Uh…yeah. Sure."

Katie smiled to herself. _"Could he get any more awkward?"_ she thought. Ever since Kate had "become a woman" awhile back, Dean got weird every time she brought up needing to go to the store. So much so that in order to avoid any conversation remotely related to "it", he gave Kate $5 each week for "you know, girl stuff" so she never had to ask for it. Kate wasn't about to tell him that this "stuff" didn't happen every week. She figured Dean's inability to handle awkward situations actually worked in her favor for a change.

Oh, and she didn't think it was necessary to tell Dean to stop freaking out because she didn't even need to get "girl stuff". It was way too much fun watching him squirm.

Shortly later they pulled into the CVS and Dean parked the car. He turned around and nodded his head towards the entrance with eyes pleading her to just get going already so they could all move on from this. Kate rolled her eyes, reached for her backpack, and got out.

Once she was inside, she took a moment to look around and try to spot the section she wanted. _"Score. Found it. Aisle 3,"_ she thought as she headed that way. When she finally found what she was looking for, her eyes grew very wide. _"Really? There are this many freaking options!? How many different sizes, colors and flavors do they really need?"_

She shifted her feet nervously and bit her lip as her eyes scanned up and down quickly trying to find one as fast as possible so she could get out of there, but there were just too many options. She was hardly an expert in this department and there was no way she was consulting Sam or Dean about this. She absentmindedly reached into her pocket and felt the $5 bill there. _"Ok, that helps,"_ she thought as she began to narrow it down to the ones that fit her price range.

Finally she picked one and shuffled up to the counter to pay. "Will this be all?" asked the short, plump older lady with a fake smile plastered on her face.

_"No, I thought it would be best to keep bringing you my items one at a time,"_ Kate thought, but instead, "Yes, this is all," was what came out. She included an even more fake smile for good measure.

"Okay, that'll be $4.27," the lady replied. Kate pulled out her crinkled $5 bill, gave it to her, and got her change. She grabbed the bag and quickly shoved it into her backpack as she walked back out into the parking lot. She slid into her seat, both her and Dean equally avoiding making eye contact. Dean was already throwing the car in gear and practically peeling out of the parking lot to put this incident behind them. Kate smiled as she glanced out the window, thinking about using her purchase tomorrow. She'd never really cared about fitting in before, but junior high was a whole new world. She thought maybe this would make school more bearable for her these days because she'd stand a chance of having something in common with these girls.

*****The Next Morning*****

"Katie, we're leaving now!" Dean yelled as he rapped on the bathroom door three times.

"Coming!" She stared at herself in the mirror. Normally she didn't ever consult a mirror. Heck, she didn't even look at her reflection on any reflective surface before leaving. It was always wake up, throw on what's clean, pull the hair up, and walk out the door while still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. But today was special. She was trying something new. She had half of her brown, wavy hair pulled up and was wearing basically the only non-tshirt she owned with her jeans and black flats. With one last look in the mirror, she was satisfied.

She grabbed yesterday's purchase as she walked out of the bathroom and quickly went over to shove it in the outside pocket of her backpack, not noticing Sam's suspicious glance from behind her.

"Any day now," Dean said as he made his way for the door. Kate picked up her backpack and Sam followed behind her. Dean opened the door and looked back, waiting for Kate and Sam to go out so he could lock up.

Dean's eyes widened when he saw his sister. "Woah…What the hell?!" he nearly shouted.

Kate stopped dead in her tracks. She wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a question or just one of his exaggerated exclamations. "What?" she looked down at her clothes and shoes, thinking she must have spilt something on them and didn't realize.

"What is that?!" Dean exclaimed as he used the whole palm of his hand to motion at her face.

"What, this?" Kate asked pointing at her lips.

"Yeah. That," Dean clarified.

"Oh..um..its nothing," Kate said suddenly feeling her cheeks begin to blush as she quickly gazed down at the floor.

"Um, no. It friggin shiny. Like I'm-staring-at-the-sun shiny," Dean replied squinting just to over exaggerate his point.

"It's just like lip gloss sparkle stuff," Kate explained, suddenly feeling very self-conscious for the first time.

Kate didn't notice that Sam had reached into the side pocket of her backpack and pulled something out. "She's right, Dean," he said as he held up the tube so Dean could seen. "It's called 'me berry sparklin' treasure," Sam said in his best pirate voice. He started laughing and Dean couldn't help but to join in.

Kate turned around to Sam with a look of absolute horror. _"Wait, that's really the name? How could I miss something like __**that**__?!"_ she mentally kicked herself before she snapped out of it and returned to the task at hand. She felt her cheeks blush more, if that was even possible.

"Well…um…all the other girls wear this stuff and you always say we should try to blend in…so you know…whatever," Kate spat out in one breath trying to defend herself. She quickly reached out and harshly grabbed the bottle from Sam's hand. "I thought we were late," Kate spat out, all of a sudden appearing to care what time they got to school. She threw a quick glare back at Sam and huffed as she walked past Dean and out to the Impala.

Dean looked from Kate as she walked away over to Sam, who was still standing there chuckling. His eyes pleaded with Sam to give him some sort of brother-friendly translation of what just happened.

"Dude, I think your 'blend in rule' just blew up in your face. And it's raining glitter," Sam said laughing as he walked past Dean.

"Shuddup, bitch," Dean said as he smacked the back of Sam's head.

"Jerk!" Sam yelled back over his shoulder.

_"Awesome. Friggin lip gloss. Just awesome," _Dean thought to himself as he locked up the door and took off towards the Impala.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you guys SO much for all the reviews, follows, and adding this story to your favorites. Virtual high fives all around! You guys are great :)**

**Also a special thanks to ispiltthemilk for helping me throw some ideas around. Y'all need to check out her fantabulous story! Look under my favorite authors and give her some love. **

**A special shout out to Mayrem for motivating me to write this chapter. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: Until ispiltthemilk and I earn enough money to buy the whole SPN cast, I will continue to own absolutely nothing in this story except Kate.**

Dean- 15

Sam-11

Katie-6

Since Katie was finally in Kindergarten, John didn't feel so guilty about leaving them to fend for themselves for a week or two. He didn't have to waste time—or precious money—on finding a babysitter during the day, if there weren't any hunters around to help him out. Little Katie still had no idea what her dad really did and if Dean had any say in the matter, she would never find out. They had been alone for a little over a week now and as Dean promised, he would take Sam and Katie to the park on Friday after school if they were good all week.

Finally Friday arrived. Katie loved going to the park. In her opinion Dean didn't take her there or play with her enough like she'd hoped. Sam was standing outside on the courtyard holding Katie's hand as they waited for Dean to pass by and pick them up.

"Let's go, small people!" Dean yelled motioning with his hand for them to come over and they started back 'home' to drop off their school things.

As Dean opened the door, Katie took off sprinting inside. "Daddy!" she screamed, running over to John who was sitting in one of the chairs at the table.

"Hey there, munchkin," he said as he picked her up and sat her on his lap, wrapping his arms protectively around her. "Hey boys. How was everything?" he asked, specifically directing the last part at Dean. Katie didn't seem to notice.

"Daddy, I was reeeeal good. Sammy too! Dean said we're going to the park. Right, Dean?" Katie couldn't hide the excitement in her voice. She looked over at Dean for confirmation of their pending plans.

"Yeah, that's right. Dad, you can rest while I take them." Dean obviously didn't want to impose anything on his dad for fear of getting on his bad side.

"You know what?" John asked rhetorically as he glanced out the window. "I think today looks like a perfect day for _all_ of us to go to the park." Dean looked at his father in shock. After catching the smiles on both Sam and Katie's faces, he couldn't help but get a little excited too. It wasn't too often that the 4 of them did anything 'normal' together.

"Really? Can we bring my soccer ball?" Sam asked John, giving him his best puppy dog eyes. He was dying to use the soccer ball that Dean and Dad (well, it was all Dean's idea) got him for his 11th birthday a few weeks ago.

"Sure, buddy, bring the ball," John answered as he put Katie down. Sam ran off to get the ball as the other 3 Winchesters headed for the door. "Ok, let's head out, gang," he announced while opening the door.

"WAIT!" Katie exclaimed loudly causing everyone to stop and look at her thinking something was terribly wrong. "I forgotted my green dolls!" she said as she practically bounced on over to the side of her bed and opened up the shoebox where she kept what few toys she did have. John gave Dean a confused glance and Dean held up his hand signaling him to just wait and see for himself. She pulled out 4 green army men that both Sam and Dean had played with as kids. Money had always been very tight for them, so Dean convinced her that these were dolls for small people to play with, like her. He hoped John would have enough money to give her a proper toy this year, but he wasn't about to hold his breath.

"Ready!" she let everyone know as she walked on out the door. John gave Dean a quick smile, as if telling him 'thank you'. That was the closest he'd gotten to receiving John's approval in a long time.

They walked the 5 blocks to the park with John listening to Katie ramble on about how cool Kindergarten was lately. Once they arrived, Sam looked over and said, "Dad, come pass the ball with me please!" John smiled as he grabbed the ball out of Sam's hands and took off towards the grassy area a few feet away with Sam trailing behind laughing.

Katie skipped off to her favorite spot—the sandbox—while Dean just took a seat on a nearby bench to keep an eye on her. She was having a blast burying her 'dolls' and then brushing her hands all over trying to uncover them, managing to get sand everywhere in the process. Finally, like any other 6 year old, she got bored and wanted to move on to something else.

"Deanie," she began. He inwardly cringed and made a mental note to work on phasing out _that_ nickname, especially in public where a hot girl could overhear it. "Watch my dolls. I wanna play there!" she said as she pointed over to the playground beside the sandbox. Dean just nodded, giving her permission to go, but she had already taken off.

A few minutes later John came up and sat beside Dean, breathing a little harder than normal. "What? Sammy wore you out already?" he joked.

"haha…you're hilarious. No, Sam's friend from school came so they're playing. You know, the kid ain't half bad at soccer," John replied. Dean wasn't about to bring up the discussion he had with Sam a few days earlier about trying out for a soccer team. Sam had practically begged and pleaded, even offering to train more—which he _hated_—just for Dean to sign the permission form, but he knew that their Dad would find out eventually and that would never end well for either of them.

Dean just nodded his head. "How'd the job go?" he asked trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

John began to tell him all the details about the shapeshifter he hunted a few states over. They continued talking about it with Dean asking detailed questions and making mental notes, all while keeping a watchful eye on his brother and sister.

Katie squealed in delight with her arms held up high as she went down the slide for the hundredth time. She jumped off at the bottom and, like always, took off running to get to the ladder again. As she began to turn right to get to the ladder, she tripped over her own feet and fell down—hard.

John and Dean both saw it happen and jogged over to Katie who had pushed herself up into a sitting position and the waterworks had already started.

"Are you okay?" John asked concerned as both he and Dean squatted down beside her.

"Deeeeeaan….it hurts!" Katie completely ignored John's question and held up her hands to show Dean. "Owey. _Owey_! You gots to fix it," she begged Dean with her tear-stained face.

_"Just what I need. Not one but __two__ drama queens in this family,"_ Dean thought as he grabbed both of her small hands to see what the problem was. "Remember? It's hard for Dr. Dean to concentrate when you're crying." Like a switch had been flipped, Katie immediately stopped crying and sniffled a few times as she waited for Dean to do something. _"Oh yeah, real hurt,"_ Dean smirked. He used his own hand to brush the rocks off of her hands, only to find that some rocks actually had broken the skin in a few places. Luckily it wasn't really bleeding. He took the bottom hem of his shirt and wiped off all the extra dirt and blood.

John was taken back by the scene that was unfolding in front of him. His one and only baby girl was hurt and she wanted nothing to do with him. She only wanted Dean. He felt like someone had just punched him in the gut and it hit him like a freight train just how much he had been gone during her formative years. He wished to death he could change it all, but he sighed when he realized he just couldn't give up on his quest.

"There ya go. All gone," Dean stated triumphantly, noticing a small grin from his dad.

"But Dean, you gots to kiss it. That's da only way it get betterer," Katie said.

_"Damnit. For a kindergartener, she has a freaking good memory. I said that __one__ time like over a year ago when she accidentally burnt her hand with hot water just to get her to stop crying."_ Dean felt all the blood rush to his cheeks, which he was sure were bright red by now. He was too embarrassed to make eye contact with his dad, who he heard let out a small chuckle. He quickly pulled her hands up higher and gave each one a quick kiss.

"Yay!" Kate exclaimed seemingly forgetting she was ever hurt to begin with. Dean picked her up and put her on her feet. He glanced over and saw Sam waving good-bye as his friend left with his mom. Dean grabbed Katie's hand and the three of them walked over to Sam.

"Sammy, look! It's all betterer now!" she said letting go of Dean's grip so she could hold up both hands for Sam to see.

He was slightly confused as to what had happened, but he just looked at her and said, "It's _better_, Katie."

"I _know_. That's what I said. It's betterer now." She looked up at John and holding her hand in front of her mouth, she 'whispered' up to him, "I think you gots to check Sammy's ears cuz he's deft." Sam gave Dean this look asking him to help clarify to Katie that he was indeed right. Dean just held up his hands in defense showing he was staying out of this.

Sam huffed and said, "Whatever. Let's just go." He turned around and started walking back home. John couldn't wipe the grin from his own face the entire walk home. Gosh, he loved these kids so much. He'd forgotten how a 6 year old could just warm your heart. He wished he could be around more to enjoy this phase before she grew up hated every authoritative figure in her life. Or maybe, just maybe, she'd turn out as respectful and obedient as Dean. He inwardly sighed. Nope, the Winchesters just never got _that_ lucky.

**Papa Winchester finally made an appearance. Yay! I know it was a little fluffy this time, but I have future plans to explore a different side of the John/Kate relationship when she's older. **

**Drop me a quick line and let me know what you thought. It helps put some extra pep in my step :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Your reviews are as sweet as chocolate! They really help motivate me. Thank you!  
Drop me a quick review and let me know what you think :) **

**A special thanks to sweetkiwi604 for the idea used in this chapter!  
**

**Disclaimer: The usual. See chapter 3 for actual details.**

Dean-22

Sam-18

Kate-14

Oh, North Dakota. Land of Nothingness. Home to Few. And now the Winchesters had the grand opportunity to experience it and all its glory. It was a Monday morning and Sam, now a senior, and Kate, in 8th grade, were gearing up for yet another week of school in the very frigid month of January.

Kate slightly opened the motel door to head outside and a gust of cold air smacked her in the face. "Holy shi—."

"Language!" Dean interrupted her from the other side of the room, not even bothering to look over.

"What? I was _going_ to say 'holy shiitake mushrooms it's cold outside!" she responded with a loud slam of the door. She wasn't ready to brave the cold just yet.

"Well no shit it's cold," Sam said as he pushed her aside to open the door again. She looked over at Dean waiting for him to do something. When he didn't respond, Sam smiled at Kate and closed the door in her face. Kate was officially offended.

"Um, why can he cuss and I can't!?" she asked, clearly annoyed.

Dean paused for a brief moment while picking up the last doughnut on the table, appearing to think about that question for a second. He grabbed his car keys and walked over to Kate. "You know why? Because I said so." He flashed his infamous side grin, clearly satisfied, maybe even a little proud, of his response. He shoved half the doughnut in his mouth as he zipped up his coat and went out into the heart of winter and Kate followed close behind.

"You…you suck!" she hollered over as she locked the door.

"Wow, Kate. Awesome comeback," he said still chewing on the donut. Kate was literally at a loss for words now, so she let out a loud sigh and stomped her way over to the car. Arriving at school still pissed from the morning's events, the last thing she expected to find was some love floating in the air today.

-Lunchtime-

Like always Kate took her tray to one of the tables in the back of the cafeteria and sat alone. She had tried to fit in at this school, even used her lip gloss and all, but it just didn't work with these girls. These bitches were cold—ice cold—and it wasn't even from the arctic weather.

"Can I sit here?" a male voice said across the table, drawing Kate out of her daydream. She looked up and saw a beautiful guy staring back at her. She smiled at him mesmerized and told him to go right ahead as she motioned for him to sit.

"I'm Robert," he said flashing a grin.

"I'm Kate," she barely managed to spit out.

"I know that you are new and all and I thought that no girl as pretty as you should have sit alone at lunch," Robert said.

_"Did he just call me pretty? Wait, did he just __wink_ _at me?!"_ she thought. Kate instantly melted. This was a whole new feeling. Uncharted territory for the youngest Winchester. Dean could practically write an entire encyclopedia about this kind of stuff, but Kate had never even entered phase one a.k.a. actually talking to a cute boy.

They spent the entire lunch period talking about everything from music to current events. He seemed to really be into the same things as she was. Kate had this weird feeling, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was because she finally felt _special_ for a change. And not 'short bus special' like Dean always told her she was. Unfortunately the bell rang, forcing them to end their conversation.

"Well, it's been great talking to you, Kate. Let's be sure to do this again tomorrow," Robert said as he flashed that million dollar, perfect white smile that could make any girl swoon.

Kate wasn't on cloud 9. No, she was on cloud 83827. She was floating high and nothing could bring her down right now. That night even Dean asked her what was up with all the happiness, but Kate obviously just kept the real reasons to herself.

And the next 3 days passed the same way. She anxiously waited for lunch and then prayed that time would stand still. She was having so much fun talking and getting to know this guy. She was finally looking forward to school every day.

On Thursday, Sam walked by the lunchroom and saw Kate sitting with the boy. He did a quick double take, unable to believe it. He had to keep rushing to get to his Science test, but made a mental note to spy on her more tomorrow.

That night rolled around and Kate just couldn't hold it in anymore. Dean had just left to go to the nearest bar to hustle some pool, and she and Sam were sitting on the couch watching Jeopardy, their nightly routine.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Kate suddenly turned to Sam and shyly asked.

Sam panicked as he turned to meet her gaze. _"Oh, please don't be another 'when will I have big girl boobs' question. Oh please, please pleas…,"_ Sam thought. "Sure, you know you can." He managed to sound optimistic.

"Promise you won't tell Dean?"

"You act like he and I just sit around and gossip about you." Kate stared at him, refusing to take anything but a direct answer on this. "No, I won't." Sam rolled his eyes at her silly persistence.

"Well...this past week everyday at lunch…um...there's this boy who always sits with me," she began. Sam suddenly sat up straighter at the mention of this boy he must had seen her with. "His name is Robert and he's a freshman. He's really cool. Like we have a billion things in common. And I don't know, I just like talking to him." Sam felt his muscles tense up. "I mean he sits with me _every_ day now. Do you…do you think he like likes me?" Kate asked with hopeful eyes. Some days Kate wished she had a _girl_ best friend she could go to with this kind of stuff, but moving around so much never gave her that luxury. Instead, she had Sam and he was a pretty good trade off in her opinion. He would never yell at her or Hulk-out into crazy, paranoid big brother mode like Dean always tended to do.

"Ok…wow...um..," Sam stalled, trying to collect his thoughts. _"Who the hell does this little punk think he is?!"_ he thought. He looked back into Kate's eyes and knew he had to push the over protectiveness away for a bit, and just be her friend again. "Yeah, it does sound like you might have an admirer." Her green eyes lit up. "But no need to get ahead of ourselves here. It's just been a week of chatting at lunch. Why don't you just enjoy that for as long as possible."

"I know. It's not like we are walking around kissing or even holding hands. I mean it's just been…you know…nice."

"Well, good. I'm happy for ya, sis," he said as he pulled her in beside him and draped his arm over her. She smiled up at him as they both turned back to the TV just in time to place their bets for Final Jeopardy.

Truth be told, Sam didn't like this one bit. Something wasn't right about this guy coming out of nowhere after they'd been there already for a month. He promised himself to investigate tomorrow.

Oh and investigate he did. During the morning homeroom, he turned to his friend Tom, a fellow nerd who had been going to this school for his entire life. A great source of information. "Tom, man, what do you know about some freshman named Robert?"

"You mean Robert Miller?" Tom asked looking through his over-sized glasses.

"Is he the only Robert who's a freshman?"

"Yeah, that I know of." Sam then nodded his head as if asking him to continue on.

"He's a real..how do the popular kids say it…douche bag." Sam's eyes widened about 3 times their size. He KNEW something was up.

"Why? What'd he do?" Sam pried for more information.

"From what I've heard, him and his friends do this thing where they 'initiate' the new girls. Like he pretends to like them and leads them on, only to find some way to embarrass them publicly. Just last month I remember hearing he got all cozy with some girl and asked her on a date. She got all dressed up and when she showed up to the restaurant, Robert and his crew were sitting there hysterically laughing at her, making fun that she actually thought he'd be interested in her. Poor girl," Tim finished as he dropped his gaze and shook his head in disgust.

"Oh hell no." Sam got out of his seat so fast that he almost knocked it over. Tom stared at him confused as Sam quickly asked the teacher for permission to leave and bolted into the hallway. His hunter instincts quickly took over. He knew who the monster was and thankfully he had just seen him yesterday, so he knew what the ass looked like. He started down the hall towards the area where most freshman classes were.

Sam stopped dead in his tracks. _"Thank you! For once luck is on my side,"_ he thought as he spotted Robert just up ahead stepping out of a classroom. Sam took 3 quick strides and he was already behind him. He grabbed and slammed him hard up against the lockers. He shoved his arm up against the kid's throat. "What the fuck do you think you're doing with _my_ sister?" he demanded.

"Dude, get off me!" Robert tried to push him off to no avail. Sam had at least 6 inches on him and years of training too. "I have no idea who you're talking about!"

Sam's rage grew and he pressed his arm in to his throat harder. "Kate. Kate Winchester." Obviously the name registered something in his head because his face suddenly went from pissed and confused to horrified and afraid. "Listen up, douche bag, because I'm not repeating myself. You're gonna tell her that you are sorry but you won't be able to hang with her anymore because they changed your lunch period. Which you WILL change." He slammed his arm harder, if that was even possible. "Then if I even see you so much as breathing the same damn air as her, I'll pull out this knife here and cut you seven ways to Sunday." He pulled up his pant leg to show him the knife he always carried. Robert struggled to look down, but Sam made sure he saw. "Do. You. Understand?"

Robert quickly nodded his head over and over. Sam was satisfied that he had made his point and let him go, but not before giving him one last hard slam into the lockers. He then made his way back towards homeroom with his fists still clenched. He couldn't remember the last time he had _ever_ threatened someone like that. And the scary part was he didn't even feel bad.

-After School-

Kate had her hands shoved in her pockets searching for any kind of warmth it might provide. She held her head down staring at her feet as Sam came up beside her. She wished Dean would just hurry up.

"Everything ok?" Sam asked, hoping he already knew the answer.

"No. Remember me telling out about that guy? Well today he told me that he was sorry but we aren't gonna be able to hang out anymore cuz they changed his lunch period. I don't even get _how_ they can just change your lunch period like halfway through the year. It's just stupid," she said as she kicked the snow.

"Sometimes this stuff happens, you know? Maybe he had to drop a class or something and it changed. I'm really sorry, Katie." He wrapped his arm around her giving her a tight squeeze. "But you know what, don't even need him." Sam couldn't help but inwardly rejoice that the kid had listened to him.

"Oh gosh, don't give me that 'my brothers are the only guys I'll ever need' bull crap like Dean does. Some day I _will _start dating, you know. And you're gonna help me break it to him." Kate said as she offered him a small grin showing she'd get over this one soon. She didn't know what she'd do without him because Dean had never been Mr. Share and Care, especially not in these cases.

They fell into a comfortable silence and Sam felt his glance sink down to the snow as he got wrapped up in his own thoughts. Normally threatening people was Dean's ammo, but he wasn't about to let this guy slide by. Nobody messes with his little sister. And ever since he had received his acceptance notification from Stanford 2 weeks ago, he'd begun to feel lots of regret because he knew he wasn't going to be here to protect her next year. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving Kate, but he knew he had to get out and away from this life. Stanford was his only opportunity. But in the meantime, he'd do anything possible to take care of Kate, even if it meant kicking some more douche bag ass.


	5. Chapter 5

**Your reviews, following, and favoriting are great! Thank you so much!**

**This chapter actually has 2 one shots with them at different ages, but they are both related. For the first part, I loved writing 6 year old Katie so much that I decided to bring her back again for some more fun :) **

**Special shout out to mi amiga ispiltthemilk for encouraging me to keep writing! We can all repay her by checking out her wicked good story! **

**If you guys have any requests for things you'd like to see happen in future chapters, please send me a PM! I love hearing your ideas!  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. See Chapter 3 to refresh your memory.**

Dean-15

Sam-11

Katie-6

Ever since the incident at the park on Friday when Katie had called him "Deanie", Dean had been waiting for an opportunity to break it to his little sister that "Deanie" was making him feel socially awkward. Try explaining that to a 6 year-old. It was Tuesday afternoon and just Katie and Dean were at the hotel. Sam had stayed after school for something geek related, or 'Overachievers 'R Us' as Dean liked to call it. And John had taken off yesterday for yet another hunt a few states over.

Katie was sitting at the kitchen table, extremely concentrated on her coloring like she was creating the next _Mona Lisa_. Dean slowly got up from the couch and made his way over to her. It was now or run the risk of losing all of his tough guy street cred on their next outing if the wrong person overheard Katie.

"Whatcha doin', munchkin?" Dean asked as he tapped her gently on the head and sat down beside her.

Kate laid down her crayon and looked over at Dean, mustering up the most annoyed look a 6 year old could manage. "Sammy is deft and you gots no eyes. Look! I'm coloring!" She held up her Scooby Doo coloring book just to prove her point. Oh, how he couldn't wait for the day when she finally didn't take everything so literally. But in the meantime, she never failed to keep him entertained.

"Oh, you're right. You got some great…er…coloring skills," Dean replied.

"Thanks Deanie! Sammy teached me to stay in the lines," she said as she put her book back down.

Dean felt his entire body cringe at the mention of that nickname. _"This must be how a demon feels when we say 'Christo'," _he thought. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about that name you always call me," he started.

"You mean Deanie?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, _that_ one." Dean shifted in his chair so he was leaning over with his arms on his knees to met her eye level. _"Gosh, why am I making this so hard! She's a little kid,"_ he scolded himself. But it was because he knew when it came to Katie, you should expect the unexpected. You just never quite knew how things were going to pan out.

She just stared at him with her green eyes and curly hair that was sticking up every which way from a busy day of playing at school. "Well, I was thinking we should just change it back to plain old 'Dean'," he finished.

Katie's eyes instantly watered up, tears on the verge of brimming over. _"Okay, I was definitely not expecting __this__!"_ Dean thought as he quickly tried to figure out what he had said to make her that upset. Monsters he understood. Monsters he could handle without a problem, but little sisters were a different story. Someone really needed to write a manual on them because he sure wasn't going to make it much further.

"Come on, Katie. It's not a big deal," he pleaded. He had already met his quota for Katie waterworks for the week after the park outing and wasn't sure his mind was even programmed to handle any more.

"It IS a big deal! Miss Harris said that peoples belong to the same family when their names end the same!" she slowly explained. Dean wasn't sure how to respond. Heck, he couldn't even figure out how to relate that with the previous conversation he thought they were having.

When Dean didn't respond, Katie took it as a sign to continue on. "Listen! Dadd-Y, Samm-Y, Kat-IE, and Dean-IE. They all end with 'E'! Why don't you want to be my family no more?" She stuck out her bottom lip, something she clearly had picked up from Sam. Tears were now on the verge of falling.

Dean opened his mouth to respond, but shut it realizing he, Dean Michael Winchester, was stumped. He took his right hand and rubbed it along his jaw, letting out a soft chuckle suddenly finding humor in this. He tried to think of something—anything—to say.

"You know that's not true. I'm still going to be your same awesome big brother," he began. He noticed Katie relax a little in her seat. "Your teacher meant that families have the same _last_ name." Katie turned her head slightly to one side and furrowed her eyebrows, clearly not understanding his explanation.

He continued on, "You know, Winchester." No response. "Daddy Winchester. Sam Winchester. Katie Winchester. And I'll be the same Dean Winchester as always." The wheels must have finally turned because she smiled and let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh good cuz I think Daddy would be mad if you wasn't my brother no more."

Dean wasn't really sure if he had even gotten his point across about the last name, but at least they seemed to be relatively on the same page. Scratch that. Dean didn't think they were on the same page, but it was safe to say they were on the same chapter.

"Ok, so just Dean from now on then, right?" He had to double check because he did not know if he had enough energy to redo this conversation again next week.

"Okie Dokie," she replied. She quickly whipped her head up at Dean with her eyes wide. "Dean! Do you think ok-IE dok-IE could be a Winchester name too?!"

Okay, definitely not even the same chapter. But they had to at least be on the same book, right? Dean suddenly realized that the conversation they just had really went nowhere in that curly haired head of hers. But he could deal with that because somehow he had managed to get his main point across—she had called him 'Dean'.

.

Dean-20

Sam-16

Kate-11

**Note: A current event is mentioned in this story, but for the sake of how I want it to play out, let's all pretend it happened a while ago when Kate was 11.  
**

The Impala roared as Dean slammed into the parking lot of the small town diner. Kate looked up and saw a big banner waving in the breeze on top of the entrance stating today was "Apply Pie Tuesday". She suddenly understood why Dean had been so persistent on eating supper here.

They all walked in the front door and a mid-forties blond haired woman walked by them. She did a double take on Dean. "Oh, hey there! Back so soon?" she said smiling. Dean just smiled back politely and gave her a quick wave as he made a mad dash to the nearest open booth. Sam and Kate shared a quick glance and bust out laughing as they made their way over to the booth. Why did he even bother to hide it? They both knew he had come here for lunch today.

Dean quickly sat down in the middle of the booth seat, making it clear it wasn't sharing. Kate rolled her eyes as she crawled in on the other side, followed by Sam.

The blond lady, Jody as her nametag stated, came over to take their order. Bacon Cheeseburger for Dean, Grilled Chicken for Sam, and Spaghetti for Kate. And 3 apple pies, obviously. Dean figured Kate and Sam would make their way back to the car while he was paying, giving him a chance to get some extra pies to go. "You never know when there might be a pie-mergency" as Dean always put it.

Kate took a long sip of water. She sat her cup down gently and placed her elbows on the table, folding her hands in front of her chest. With a serious look she said, "Guys, we have something important to discuss."

"Uh, okay," Sam responded stealing a baffled look with Dean.

"Well awhile ago, Sam got to decide for himself, so its only fair I get to do the same," she began.

"What the hell are you even talking about? You always make conversations so damn confusing. Cut to the chase," Dean stated as he took a long swig of his beer, which he ordered with his fake ID.

"Fine. Sam said he no longer wanted to be called Sammy. And I now just want to be called Kate. No more Katie," she said referring to a little over a year ago when Sam had declared that he had outgrown the nickname 'Sammy'.

Dean sat back in his seat putting his hand on his chest like he had just been hurt. "But…but…Katie...if you change it, you won't be our sister anymore! Do you not love us?" he said in his best crying voice.

"Dean, I was SIX! It wasn't even my fault," she said exacerbated. "Anyway, can we all just agree on this?"

"Well, I can't make any promises. Just ask Sammy over there." Dean smirked at Sam as he took another victory swig. Man, he was on a roll tonight.

"Fine by me. But why the sudden change?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. Kate just sounds better to me," she replied. There was no way she'd ever reveal the actual reason with anyone—ever. Yesterday they were talking about Great Britain in her social studies class and how they have princes and princesses. The teacher told them that there had just been a royal wedding and Prince William married a commoner named _Kate_. She couldn't believe she shared a name with a real life princess. At some point every girl dreams of becoming a princess, right? Yes, even a Winchester does too. Knowing her name was the same as a princess made it sound a billion times better and more important. So she decided it was time to write off little Katie, and bring on the new Kate. Whether her brothers would cooperate or not, well that was still up in the air.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, hello! Thank you guys for the reviews and following my story! ****As always, please review! I love hearing your feedback.**  


******I wanted to write about Kate and Dean's relationship as they got older and decided it probably would have 2 sides to it. This will be one and I'll be posting another chapter, maybe later this weekend, that shows a more lighthearted side to their relationship. Let me know what you guys think!**

**Thank you, ispiltthemilk, for helping me with this chapter!  
**

**Disclaimer: If you think I own something other than Kate, you be crazy.**

Dean-25

Sam-21 (away at Stanford)

Kate-16

Lately Dean and Kate had been down each other's throats. They had barely talked over the last 2 days and when they did, it always escalated. "Don't chew with your mouth open" turned into "why is your voice so annoying", which logically led to "why does Dad have to always get shitty hotels". Dean blamed it all on Kate being a moody girl and Kate blamed it on him just being an ass.

It was times like these when Kate wished Sam were still there. He always was the mediator when things got bad between them. He knew when to intervene before it all got out of hand. But what she really needed was someone to talk to, not so much someone to break up the fight. She needed a brother; something Dean seemed to have forgotten he was.

Dean pulled the Impala into a parking space as Kate looked up through the windshield to see a large neon sign. _"Great. Yet another run down diner,"_ she thought. What she really wanted was to be at the motel and under the covers forgetting that the last 2 days had happened. She got out of the car and slammed the door—whether it was on purpose or by accident is still up for debate.

"Watch it, would ya?!" Dean exclaimed as he got out and shut his door tenderly, as if setting an example. Kate didn't even acknowledge him as she headed inside and grabbed a booth in the back. Dean shortly followed after her.

"What can I get for you guys?" said the waitress. Kate figured she was pushing 50 judging by the growing amount of grays hairs she had.

"Chicken fingers. Fries. Coke," Kate said as she handed the lady her menu.

"Bacon cheeseburger, extra bacon, and fries. Oh, and a Dr. Pepper," Dean said as he also handed over his menu.

"Okay, great! I'll put those orders right in," she said as she walked away.

"Man, why couldn't _she_ have been our waitress?" Dean said as he nodded towards a girl working behind the counter. Kate half turned her head in that direction, but once she saw a blond haired girl, she didn't even bother to see more.

"Shock," she replied.

They sat in silence for a long time. They both continued to just stare around the diner, even pulling out their phones at times to pretend to be doing something. After what seemed like an eternity, their food finally came and they both eagerly dug in.

After a few moments of peaceful eating, Dean broke the silence. "So how about we hit up that college library up the road? It says its open till 10 tonight."

"No thanks," Kate replied between shoving handfuls of fries in her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me rephrase that. We will be hitting up that library when we're done eating," he replied, already getting pissed off.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me rephrase that. Fuck no." Kate was tired of research. She was tired of being told what to do. And most of all she was just tired of constantly replaying what happened at school 2 days ago in her head. She just couldn't catch a break.

"Dad needs our help. He's gonna call tomorrow morning and expect us to have the information." Dean narrowed his gaze.

"You mistake me for someone who cares." Kate lifted her head to meet his glare. People always say looks can kill, but they've never seen 2 Winchesters go at it. They were both glaring so hard at the other that at any second they might start shooting fireballs out of their eyes.

"What is your problem!?" Dean said in a low voice. "Dad is on a hunt. He needs our help, unless you want him to be unprepared and get killed. So cut the teenager soap opera crap. You're going to the damn library. End of discussion, " he finished.

She recognized that tone. It was that one that told her to back down. She knew if she continued, it was very likely he would drag her ass out of this diner and 'teach her a lesson'. Wouldn't be the first time, but she really didn't want to add that on top of everything else lately.

"Whatever," she replied as she returned her gaze to her food once again. They both finished their meals in silence, each still fuming with anger.

Finally the waitress came over to give them the check and told them to pay upfront. They got up and made their way to the register, where much to Dean's delight and Kate's disgust, the blond bimbo waited on them.

"Was everything okay?" she asked them as she took the receipt to ring it up.

"It is now." Cue Dean's infamous pick-up-chick grin. Kate was already pissed off and now she had just become extremely annoyed. A deathly combination.

"Hi, my name's Kate," she said as she extended her hand towards Blondy. Dean stared at her, not sure what to make of this.

"Hey! I'm Ashley," the waitress replied. She shook her hand and they shared a polite smile.

Kate quickly turned to Dean and said rather loudly, "Oh my gosh, Dean! You were right! Slut bags ARE friendly!" Words cannot explain the face that Dean made at her. It was a mix of horror, embarrassment, and mad as hell.

And with that, Kate turned on her heel and slammed out the main doors. She had no idea how Dean would turn that one around and quite frankly didn't care in the slightest. She also knew he would come out and leave her ass in the parking lot for that, but she was one step ahead of him. She had swiped the car keys from his coat pocket. So she settled into the passenger's seat and closed her eyes for a moment trying to escape from everything. Suddenly she heard the bells jingle, signaling that Dean had just walked out of the diner. He got into the car and closed the door. There was a moment of silence. Then Dean held out his hand, waiting for Kate to give him the keys and she reluctantly handed them over.

"You're grounded." She wasn't surprised. She continued to ignore him and watched the street lights fly by as they took off in the direction of the library.

They spent 3 hours at the library researching some pagan god that Kate didn't even care to remember the name of. They only spoke when it was absolutely necessary. Finally at 9pm, Dean declared they had enough information for their dad and could head back to the hotel.

Once they got back, Kate mumbled that she was going to hop in the shower. As soon as Dean heard the water start up, he went over to Kate's bag. He knew he shouldn't do it. He wasn't that kind of person, well normally not. You know, the kind that reads their little sister's journal. But he knew something was up because of how she had been acting and wanted answers. He searched through her bag until he found it. He sat down on the bed and flipped to the most recent entry. Just as he expected, it was written 2 days ago. He quickly skimmed through it because he was sure Kate would be out soon. He ran his hand through his hair; he couldn't believe what he was reading.

_Worst day ever…Overheard girls in the bathroom…Called me weird…A freak…Butt ass ugly…_

_I just want Sam back. He'd make it better. I just need my brother back…_

Dean's heart sank. Why wouldn't she tell _him_ these things? But he already knew why. Because lately he had been acting like anything but a friend to her. His head jerked up when he heard the shower turn off. He hurriedly shoved the journal back where he found it and made his way over to the couch. He flipped on the TV and searched for something interesting to watch. Minutes later Kate stepped out in her pjs and her hair still damp.

"Hey, you have to see this episode of _South Park_. It's friggin' hilarious," Dean called over.

Kate was taken off guard. _"Didn't he just ground me? Could this be the Dean way of apologizing?"_ she thought. She didn't have the energy to argue and actually wouldn't mind a good laugh, so she went over and plopped down on the small couch by him.

They shared many laughs throughout the show and as it came to an end, he noticed a small yawn escape from her. "Get over here," he said as he moved the pillow from his side over to his lap. Kate just wanted to put this whole mess behind them, so she leaned over and laid down facing the TV. Shortly later Dean began to comb his hands through her hair—something he used to do when she was little and refused to sleep. She closed her eyes enjoying a peaceful, relaxed moment.

"You have mom's hair." At the mention of her mom, Kate instantly sat up, now facing Dean. She stared at him in disbelief. He _never_ brought up mom.

"Well you do. She secretly hated that all 3 of us ended up with brown hair. She always held out hope that her daughter would get her wavy hair. Looks like she got her wish," Dean said as he smiled softly. Kate ran her hands through her hair and grabbed a strand to look at, wanting to make sure it was true.

"You really think so?" she asked shyly.

"Yeah. She'd say you were beautiful," he said as he held out his arm, inviting her to sit closer. She couldn't help but smile as she scooted beside him and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his other arm around her.

Dean wasn't one for moments like this, but after reading in her journal how she "just wanted my brother," it occurred to Dean that Sam didn't need to be there. Dean was still there and _he_ was her brother too. It was about time he started remembering that.

Kate had no idea what got into Dean, but the timing was perfect. This is what she needed. Not a father. Not a drill sergeant. Not some authoritative dick. She needed a special kind of friend—a brother. And she finally had him again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you so much for the reviews and follows! I'm glad you guys are enjoying it! Keep the reviews coming! They help motivate me to get chapters out faster :)**

**Julie-I'm totally open to hearing your ideas! Send them my way. Actually I encourage anyone to message me things they'd like to see in future chapters. I'd love your input!**

**This is the second chapter showing a completely different side to Dean and Kate's relationship. It was a lot of fun to write!  
**

**Disclaimer: The usual. See chapter 3 for specifics.**

Dean-24

Sam-20 (away at Stanford)

Kate-15

Kate had her forehead pressed up against the apartment window. Her breathing caused the window to momentarily fog up, but she could not bear to take her gaze off of the snow that had started falling heavily a few hours ago. "Is it on yet?" she asked Dean without taking her eyes off of the snow for fear it might just all disappear.

"No," Dean replied in a short tone.

"What about now?" she asked literally 10 seconds later.

"Geesh, Kate. I said I'd tell you when it's on!" Dean was getting annoyed.

"Yeah, well sorry but it's a little hard to trust you with such an crucial task." Dean decided it wasn't even worth responding because it would nag her on even more.

Finally he saw the blue bar come across the bottom of the screen that signaled the channel was about to list the closings and delays for tomorrow.

"Get over here," Dean said. Kate quickly moved to about a foot away from the TV screen for prime viewing and impatiently waited for the 'J' section to come up. _Frankfort High….2 hour delay, Graham Schools…closed, Jefferson Schools…closed._

"YES!" Kate screamed as she jumped up on couch fist pumping in victory. She jumped off and did a few spins on her feet. Dean couldn't help but smile. He remembered those days when he pleaded with the snow gods to give him just one day off from the torture chamber known as school.

"You know, you could pass as Tom Cruise with that couch jump you just did." The moment the sentence left his mouth, Dean froze realizing what he had actually just said. He nervously peered over at Kate, searching for any sign that she recognized the reference he made.

"I have no idea what you're talking about and I don't care!" she said as she gave one last twirl for good measure. "Cuz tomorrow is a snow day and I'm freaking sleepin' till noon!"

Dean breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed back in his seat. "Well snow day or not, it's time for your ass to get to bed."

"Fine, but don't you _dare_ wake me up tomorrow. I'm gonna catch up on some beauty rest," Kate threatened.

"Better just go into hibernation then because you got a lot of catching up to do," Dean joked, smirking at his own cleverness.

"Freaking hilarious. You're a regular comedian now," Kate replied dryly as she punched him in the arm. "Night night," she finished as she began to skip off towards her room. John had decided to rent out a small apartment for them this time because there had been many cases in the area, so he knew they'd be there for a while. Amazingly it had 2 bedrooms and with Sam away at college and John on the hunt, Kate could finally have her own room for a bit.

"Night," Dean called back as he began to flip through the channels. The only time he ever got to watch what he wanted was when she wasn't there to bitch at him. Kate shut her door and threw herself on the bed, too lazy to even get under the covers. She was looking forward to a day of nothing.

Kate tossed back and forth in her bed, pissed because her body seemed to refuse to sleep any longer. She could feel the sun glaring at her through the only window in her room. It was mocking her, she just knew it. She blindly reached her arm out and grabbed her phone. She squinted open one eye. It took her a few times to keep that eye open when she lit up the screen. She felt like she was staring directly into a light flare. _"Ugh. Really? 10:18. That's the best you can do?!" s_he mentally scolded her body. Her body had once again failed to allow her to achieve her ultimate life goal of sleeping the entire day away.

Annoyed with the world, she rolled onto her back and sat up. She scooted over to the side of the bed, stood up, and shuffled over to the door. Still not wanting to fully embrace the fact she was awake, she opened both eyes just enough to be able to see where she was going. She noticed the door was already half open. She wasn't surprised. Even though Dean would never admit it and she decided not to bug him about it, she knew that when they slept in separate rooms, he would always check on her before he went to bed and left the door half open, being the overprotective, paranoid brother he was.

Without being able to muster up enough energy to physically move the door open further, she turned sideways and slid through the current opening. As she stepped into the hall, she immediately heard the TV and the sound of people cheering and applauding. _"What the hell?"_ she thought as she rubbed her eyes so she could attempt to focus on what was happening. She looked up ahead in the living room and saw the back of Dean's head on the couch. Kate squinted harder to see what was going happening on the TV.

She froze. _"Oh. My. Gosh. Totally worth waking up for!"_ she mentally cheered as she suddenly felt a jolt of energy and life rush through her body, erasing all the tiredness she had felt 5 seconds ago. Her eyes quickly bolted around the room trying to come up with a plan as fast as possible.

She spotted Dean's phone on the kitchen counter a few feet ahead of her. She ever so gently tip toed over to the counter, careful not to make a sound. _"So much for those hunter instincts, Dean,"_ Kate joked to herself. She grabbed his phone and quickly opened it up to record a video. She clicked _record_ and first aimed it at the TV screen as she began slowly walking up to the side of the couch.

_"Oh Oprah, I'm just so excited to be here with you today!"_ some weird looking blond chick said on the screen.

"So...whatcha wathin'?" Kate said as she turned the phone towards him. Dean's head whipped over at her all in a panic. He quickly fumbled with the remote trying to turn off the TV, finally managing to do so.

"I..I was just flipping through the channels," he lied.

"Oh Dean, you know the camera doesn't lie! Just admit you watch Oprah!" she teased.

"You're dead," he said as he lunged at her trying to grab the phone. She quickly ended the video and took off running. He kept chasing her around the small apartment, until they both ended up in the kitchen, each on one side of the table.

"Give it to me. Now," Dean demanded.

"No way. This is gold. Actually better than gold! Imma send it to every girl in your phone, which you make so freaking easy by putting them all in the same folder…'Babes'." Kate smiled as she started clicking through the phone preparing to send.

"Come on Kate. You don't really wanna start this up again," Dean begged.

"Oh, but I do."

"Do I have to remind you that last time Sam ended up bald and you ended up with blue stained teeth for a week! You don't wanna mess with the King."

"Oh yeah? Bring it." _Click_. Kate held up the phone to show Dean the "sending…" message that appeared across the screen. A victorious smile plastered across her face.

"Ok, but remember you started this crap. Don't come crying to me begging for mercy," Dean stated.

"Oh wow. You're a dude…who watches Oprah. I'm shaking in my boots," Kate said as she made her best scared face.

"You just wait and see." Dean reached out and finally snatched his phone back, but much to his dismay, the messages had already been sent.

Kate gave him one last triumphant smile as she made her way back to her room loudly giving off her best 'evil' laugh the whole way. She picked up her own phone and saw she had one new message; obviously she had sent herself the video too. _"Definitely gotta send this one to Sammy. He's missing out,"_ she thought as she scrolled through her contact list searching for his name and finally sending it off. She snapped her phone closed and laid back down on her bed, deciding she might need to rest up for the coming Winchester War.

**A/N: The Tom Cruise reference is from an interview with Oprah he did quite some time ago when he declared that he was 'in love'.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you guys for the amazing reviews! I appreciate all of the ideas you sent me too! You guys are awesome. If anyone else has ideas, don't hesitate to PM me!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Julie and GallagherBlackthorneZammie for their amazing ideas. You both had very similar ones, so I meshed them together and came up with this chapter! I hope you guys enjoy :) **

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**Disclaimer: See Chapter 3**

Dean-22

Sam-18

Kate-14

It was an average Thursday afternoon in April. Normally Dean allowed Kate and Sam to walk home from school together because the weather in April was quite pleasant in Illinois, however this school let seniors out early on Thursdays if they met a certain high GPA requirement. At first when Sam found out, he was pissed, but then he realized his last period was study hall, so he stopped throwing a 'bitch fit', as Dean put it. And on this particular Thursday, Sam had somehow managed to convince Dean to go get Kate. He just wanted to have a lazy afternoon for once.

Dean rounded the corner and saw a bunch of cars lined up outside, waiting to pick up their kids. He breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't driven. The Impala would not have been safe around all these crazy soccer mom drivers.

As he walked along the high fence in front of the school trying to find the stupid entrance, he glanced over towards the main doors searching for Kate. He spotted her and mentally thanked her for not making him wait in this disaster zone.

Someone walked by Dean and smacked into his shoulder hard. Dean turned around, ready to beat this person down, but the lucky bastard had already disappeared and mixed in with the sea of other crazy people flooding the sidewalk. "Ass," he muttered under his breath as he turned back around and kept walking, finally spotting the entrance a few feet ahead of him. He glanced through the fence wires again and stopped dead in his tracks. Kate was no longer waiting alone. There was now a boy beside her, holding her hand. His eyes narrowed in on them and then he saw them leaning in towards one another.

He instinctively reached to the small of his back, but immediately scolded himself for not packing a gun. He couldn't believe this. This stuff was never supposed to happen to his sister. His _little_ sister. Dean grunted as he finally marched through the entrance and headed towards the main doors. He shoved a few older kids out of his way. They didn't seem to understand he was on a mission, even with the infamous Dean scowl plastered on his face. Kate spotted her brother and she recognized that look. And it was not good. _"Oh crap!"_ she thought as she let go of the boy's hand and pushed him to the side. "You better run!" He gave her a confused look as he followed her gaze and saw one pissed off looking guy. He could only assume this was the _other_ brother. Kate gave him a sympathetic and apologetic look as he took off running behind the school. Kate wasn't sure how much Dean had seen, but she knew it was enough. He wasn't even supposed to find out; Sam was always supposed to pick her up!

She nervously shifted her feet back and forth until he finally arrived. "Who was that?" he asked, trying to keep his cool in public. He didn't need the cops called on him for a public disturbance.

"Oh, he's my Science lab partner." Technically that _wasn't_ a lie.

"Uh-huh," was all he responded. He grabbed her upper arm and started pulling her on. Kate braced herself. Now she knew he saw, but she hated when he did this—when he goes all silent instead of yelling and makes you torture yourself thinking about what's going to happen. He was really good at it.

They walked all the way home without exchanging even a single word as Kate stayed one step behind—and out of arms reach—of Dean. The second she entered the motel room, she practically all but sprinted to the bathroom. She wanted to put off the inevitable for just a little bit longer and think of a plan.

Sam looked from the closed bathroom door over to a very pissed Dean. He just raised his eyebrows, silently asking for some sort of explanation.

"Dude, I saw our sister. _With a guy_," Dean whispered harshly at Sam as he sat down on an empty chair beside him at the table. He didn't want Kate to overhear.

"So?" Sam didn't get what the big deal was.

"Sam! He was practically _sucking_ her face off!" Dean was trying to keep his voice low, but it wasn't that easy.

Sam smiled. He knew who this guy was. It was Tyler Franklin and Sam had already met and checked the guy out. He was actually really nice and genuine. Much needed after how that bastard in North Dakota treated Kate. They both had agreed to just not worry Dean by telling him about Tyler. "What was he, a vampire then?" Sam joked.

"What? Is this _funny_ to you? This punk is violating our little sister!" Dean threw his hands up in frustration.

"Dean, kissing is hardly worth getting so worked up over," Sam replied.

Dean stared at Sam is shock. Since when was he _not_ on his side about everything when it involved Kate and men! Dean ran his hand over his face as he heard the bathroom door open. Both Sam and Dean looked over. _"Might as well get it over with,"_ she thought as she slowly emerged from the bathroom.

"Kate, sit down." Dean pointed to the empty chair on the other side of the table. "We need to talk."

Kate looked at Sam for some sort of guidance, but he didn't give her any help. She cautiously took a seat. "What's up?" Her game plan had been to play it dumb apparently.

"I saw you with that little blond shitface," Dean began.

"I told you. He's my science lab partner."

"Oh, I guess I didn't realize swapping saliva was part of Science class now," Dean responded. He had fully hulked out into overprotective brother mode.

"Dean, just let her explain," Sam interjected. Kate gave him a half smile, thankful he was there to keep Dean from reaching across the table and chocking her to death.

"Well at first he was just a friend. My lab partner…and…um…now we like each other. Like a lot. So we kiss. Not worth flipping out over, Dean," Kate explained calmly.

"Flipping out? I'm already passed flipping out! I knew I should have salted and burned that damn lip gloss when I had the chance." Sam and Kate both rolled his eyes. And he called_ them_ drama queens?!

"Seriously, Dean, take it down a notch," Sam said, trying to create some peace before steam started spewing from Dean's ears.

"No. She's kissing boys, Sam." Dean switched his glance to Kate. "I thought I was pretty damn clear when I said you aren't dating until you're 30." Kate folded her arms and practically threw her upper body back in the chair. She was getting frustrated. "I mean all it takes is a kiss and then BAM! I got people knocking on my door asking to film you for an episode of _16 & Pregnant__!"_

"Wow. You _never_ exaggerate. It's only kissing. I'm not having sex! And you're one to talk anyway. You don't even bother to learn a girls name before you sleep with her!" She'd kept that bottle up for awhile and it was finally time to throw that in his face. He was being a complete hypocrite.

"How the hell would you even know?" Dean was starting to get defensive.

"Hello? We've grown up in crap motels and apartments. The walls aren't exactly sound proof. I hear you and Sam talk about girls all the freaking time!" Kate's voice was starting to rise. Sam and Dean shared a quick look. Sam just shrugged his shoulders, showing Dean that Kate was probably right about this one.

"Well that's completely different," Dean said.

"No it's not!" Kate shouted.

"Yes it is. You're 14 and my little sister. So of course it's different," Dean finished, adding emphasis on every word.

"I'm not having sex nor do I plan to anytime in the even remotely near future." Kate felt the need to clarify that one more time because this was getting out of control. Somehow it had gone from an innocent kiss to her being knocked up. Sam and Dean fell quiet. There was a beat of silence as everyone tired to collect their thoughts.

Finally Sam broke the silence. "What Dean is trying to say and failing miserably at doing is just don't do anything stupid. You're still young." He reached out and gently touched her arm.

"Fine, but I'm not a freaking slut, Dean. Not that it's any of your business, but I just had my first kiss on _Monday_." Kate looked at Sam and he just nodded his head in support. Dean's eyes flew back and forth between his younger siblings as he picked up on their silent gestures.

"You _knew_ about this?! And you didn't freaking tell me?" Dean demanded.

"I didn't want you to rip the guy's lungs out, Dean. And I already met him. He's a nice guy," Sam defended himself.

Dean looked from Sam to Kate and back to Sam. Were they ganging up on _him_ now? Yes, they were most definitely ganging up on him. Somehow all this been turned around and was making _him_ look like the bad guy. He got up and went to grab his keys off the bedside table.

"Where are you going?" Kate asked nervously, fearing the worst.

Dean took a long drawn out breath. "I'm not going after the ass hat. Not today at least. Even though every bone in my body says I should rip him to shreds."

"Then what are you doing?" Sam prodded for more information.

"My sister is kissing boys now, Sam. If I'm not going to kill him, where else would I be going? I'm freaking getting a beer. Or five." He wasn't ready for any this. The little girl that he had taken care of and practically raised was growing up without his permission. He wanted her to be little Katie for as long as possible, preferably forever. He just wasn't ready to accept the hard facts of life. He turned around giving Kate one last look. "And you. Don't even think about asking to go on a date with this guy. You're grounded...for…forever." Satisfied that he had made a point, he walked towards the door and left the room. Sam and Kate listened for the roar of the Impala leaving, knowing it was finally safe to talk.

Sam leaned in to Kate. "Didn't you get my text about him coming to pick you up instead of me?"

Kate smirked mischievously. "Yeah, I did."

"And?" Sam wanted a better explanation.

"Well you're leaving me soon and you promised you'd help me break it to him. So I figured no better time than the present!" Kate was always thinking one step ahead of all of them.

"Well at least give me a heads up next time," Sam joked. They both couldn't help but share a laugh.

"You think he'll get over it?" Kate asked genuinely.

"Oh yeah, he will. After he gets a few beers in him, he'll be fine. I swear the veins in his forehead were going to pop though!" Sam made a 'popping' noise with his mouth for extra emphasis.

"I know!" Kate giggled. "Watching Dean freak out won't be as much fun when you're not here with me." They fell silent for a brief moment, both thinking about what would be coming in the next few months.

"What do you say we go grab some money from Dean's bag and get ourselves some ice cream?" Sam asked, wanting to not dwell on the inevitable.

"Heck yes!" Kate said as she jumped up from her chair and made her way over to Dean's duffel with Sam trailing behind. Kate suddenly stopped and turned around to face Sam. She wrapped her arms around his torso without saying anything. They both knew this hug was more of a 'I'll miss you' than a 'Thank you'. Sam just gave her a tight squeeze before they let go and went to find the money Dean always 'hid' in his bag.


	9. Chapter 9

**Howdy folks! Thank you for the kind reviews! Don't forget to send any ideas of things you'd like to see included in future chapters!  
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**Special thank you to Mayrem and Sweetkiwi604 for their ideas that are used in this chapter.  
And to ispiltthemilk for all her support and basically being my personal cheerleader. Hope you guys enjoy!  
Last but not least, Julie-I'm so excited you got an account! Check your inbox on this site because I sent you a message :)  
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**Disclaimer: See Chapter 3.**

Dean-15

Sam-11

Kate-6

"Deeeeaaannnn…I think I'm _dying_!" Katie yelled over from where she was sitting on the bed beside Sam.

"You're not dying. It's normal. Happened to me and Sammy too," Dean responded as he took the soup off the stove and poured it into 3 separate bowls.

"Having spots like those Disney doggies is NOT normal," Kate said.

"Stop scratching," Sam scolded as he reached over and lightly smacked her hand away from her leg.

"Katie, if you keep scratching, I'm going to duct tape Sammy's dirty socks to your hands," Dean yelled over from the kitchen.

"I gots chicken pox, I don't need cooties too! Icky!" Katie said as she crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip—full on pout position.

"Kay, guys. Come and get it while it's hot," Dean announced. Sam and Kate hopped off the bed and made their way over to the table to join him. They all say down and dug in.

"Can I go to school tomorrow? Pleeeeeease!" Katie looked up at Dean with hopeful eyes.

"Nope. You're stuck here with me until your alien spots disappear," Dean replied nonchalantly.

"But we was gonna learn to subtract, Dean! That means you make numbers more smaller," she added for clarification.

"Well that's what you have this guy here for," Dean said as he reached his hand out to give Sam a hard pat on the back.

Both Katie and Sam looked at each other and let out a loud sigh, neither liking what Dean said. He couldn't help but chuckle. They may hate each other now, but he was sure one day they'd be great friends. They were too much alike not to be.

They finished up their meal making small talk, then Dean announced, "Bath time kiddo." He picked Katie up and sat her down by the bathroom door.

"But I'm real sick. I don't wanna." Cue the pout face.

"I got this creamy oatmeal wash stuff. It will make you stop scratching," Dean tried to persuade her.

"Promise?"

"Yeah. It's what mom used for me and Sammy. Now come on," he said as he went inside the bathroom and started to fill up the tub. Dean began to pour some of the thick, oatmeal-type mixture into the water as he sat down on the side of the tub. "Okay, let's get you ready." He motioned for her to come over. He started to reach for her shirt to help her take it off, but she tried to keep it pushed down, suddenly embarrassed by her chicken pox spots everywhere.

"Deeeeann….," she wined. "I wanna do it by myself." Her face was apparently stuck on constant pout mode today.

"I gotta help you get this stuff all over your polka dots or it won't work." He glanced back at the growing water and thick mixture on top. She still wouldn't budge her hands. "Come on, Katie. I used to change your smelly ass diapers. This is nothing." She didn't move a muscle, her gaze firmly saying she wasn't changing her mind. Damn was she stubborn.

"Ok, you have 30 seconds to get yourself in that tub before I come back," he announced as he turned off the water and walked out. Katie quickly threw her clothes on the floor and hopped in the tub. She ran her fingers through the water. She couldn't even see her own legs because the stuff Dean had put in made the top of the water very thick. She felt like she was swimming in a layer of mashed potatoes. It was all mushy and she officially wasn't a fan.

Finally Dean came back in and knelt down beside the tub. "Ok, let's get you smothered in this crap." He grabbed a washcloth and began to put it on her back while she rubbed it on her arms. Once she was covered head to toe in the mush, he said, "Now, we let you soak for 10 minutes."

"What am I supposed to do for 10 whole minutes?" To Katie any amount of time seemed like an eternity these days.

"Sit still," he said as he scooted over so he was sitting up against the wall by the tub. He wasn't about to leave her alone since this girl practically was a magnet for mischief and trouble lately. He felt better being able to just keep a watchful eye on her.

Only about 30 seconds had passed when Katie finally broke the silence. "What was mom like?"

Dean rolled his head along the wall to look at her. He knew she was going to bring it up, especially since he had mentioned her earlier. As he looked at her mushy oatmeal-esque covered face, he knew this time he couldn't say no. "Well...she was...she was perfect."

Sam's head instantly shot up. Dean never talked about mom. Sam had been almost 6 when she died, so he had his own memories, but they were nothing like the ones Dean had. He quietly crept over and sat outside the bathroom door, trying to stay out of sight.

"She had green eyes just like yours." Kate broke into a smile, showing a gap where she had lost a front tooth last week. "She was the nicest person you'd ever meet." Dean rested his head back against the wall and continued to look straight ahead at the other wall. "She would read us stories and give us a kiss goodnight everyday."

"Like my _Green Eggs and Ham_ book?" Katie had recently become obsessed with that book. So much so that Dean was forced to actually make green eggs one time so she would stop nagging him.

"Yup, remember I told you how Mom gave Sammy that book when he was little like you," Dean finished. There was a long pause as Dean gently smiled at the memories flooding his mind.

"Is Mommy an angel?" Katie broke the silence with her innocent curiosity showing.

"Yeah, she is. And you know what? Now she's watching over us." Dean felt a single tear roll down his cheek. He quickly brushed it away before Katie could notice. There was a long silence as the 3 Winchesters were each caught up in their own thoughts, thinking over what had just been said.

Suddenly Dean scooted up beside the tub. "Ok, that's enough story time for today. Let's get you cleaned up," he said as he got a small cup and turned on the water so he could rinse her off.

Sam quietly got up and crawled into his bed. He curled up on his side and pulled the covers over his head and let the tears silently flow. He felt guilty because he hadn't thought about his mom for quite some time. He felt guilty because he was the last one to see her before she died. And he felt guilty because Katie would never get to know how tender a parent's love could really be.

But none of them would ever know just how much she loved her kids. Mary never told anyone that not only had she made one deal with the yellow-eyed demon, but she had made two. When Dean was diagnosed with terminal cancer at just 8 months old, she sought him out and begged for him to cure her baby. Any mother would have done the same at seeing their first-born child so tragically ill. She'd never tell anyone that in exchange for Dean's full recovery, she had given the demon permission to enter her house for second time in 10 years. She would never find out that the first time he came, he had managed to feed Sam demon blood at the tender age of 6 months. The second time he came, Katie was just one year old. No one had ever told Katie that her mother died trying to protect her from that demon. She was too young to understand the truth. Mary died in the fire before she knew she had succeeded in stopping the demon and he had fled the demon before he bled on Kate. All of these secrets she would never be able to share with her kids or even the love of her life, John. But it wasn't necessary. A mother's love wasn't something you could see or hear through a story. It was something you _felt_. And she was positive that her boys would make sure her baby girl knew exactly what that love felt like.


	10. Chapter 10

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Dean-23

Sam-19

Kate-14

It was a Thursday afternoon in late August. The sun was on its way down, taking its heat with it. Kate felt a small breeze and silently thanked the wind gods for allowing her to momentarily cool down. She looked up ahead of her as she wiped sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her shirt. She saw Dean waiting for her off to the side of the road by the hotel. He had finished long before her. Dean glanced down at his watch and looked up at Kate struggling to finish. "Hurry up!" he barked.

Kate didn't think she was going to make it. Every muscle in her body was in constant protest. She grunted, cursing at her father. Ever since he came back 2 days ago, he told Dean he was being way too easy on Kate and demanded they up the training. Kate assumed it had more to do with Sam leaving 3 weeks than anything. John finally realized they were down a hunter and was looking to replace him quickly, hence Kate being forced to step up her game. Kate attempted to channel all that inner anger at her father to fuel her strides the last 100 meters.

She finally reached Dean and instantly hunched over with her hands resting on her knees, breathing hard. She felt another small breeze and lifted her head slightly to embrace it as she heard Dean push some buttons on his watch.

"32 minutes," he said as his regretful eyes met hers.

"Well, I'm not…going…again," she said between breaths. Dean opened his mouth, ready to remind her that John said she had to get it in 30 minutes or keep trying until she did. Dean hated the fact that John was being so hard on her.

"Fine. Just this once," he replied as he put his hand on her back and gently starting guiding her in the direction of the room.

Kate opened the door slowly. She didn't want to go back, but a shove from Dean told her otherwise. She stumbled into the room from the harsh shove and John's gaze instantly met both of them.

"Well?" he asked, waiting for Dean to report.

"She did fine. 30 minutes exactly," Dean replied as he took a seat on the bed, wiping excess sweat from his forehead.

Kate smiled as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and a towel from her bag. It was an extremely rare occasion when Dean would lie to their father, normally that would have been Sam's place.

"Where do you think you're going?" John yelled over to Kate who was walking towards the bathroom.

"I'm sweaty and nasty. I'm showering."

"No, you're not," John said. Kate looked from him to Dean, waiting for someone to explain to her why personal hygiene was such a crime now. "Do you really think a wendigo will just let you pause and take a shower after it chases you down?"

Kate let out a small, sarcastic laugh. There was no way he was being serious right now. She stared at him in disbelief, as his face grew harder. "No it won't. So get your ass over here and sit. We have some more stuff to go over." Kate wadded up her towel and threw it angrily on the floor. She practically stomped over and took a seat opposite of John. "You can lose the attitude while you're at it." Kate didn't feel a need to respond. Dean sensed the mood instantly change. He knew those looks all too well. Something was brewing. He'd refereed enough Sam-John altercations to recognize the warning signs. He got up and made his way over into the only remaining chair at the table. He'd kill for a shower now too, but leaving them alone was clearly not an option.

"Vampire is on your tail. What do you do? John began.

_"Great. Here comes another round of 20 questions,"_ Kate thought. She knew just about everything about any and every monster out there that her dad had encountered. She knew their habits, what they looked like, and how they attacked. Slowly but surely she was learning how to kill them. "Let it get close enough and inject him with some dead man's blood so you can get information out of him," she replied.

"And I highly doubt you will ever have any dead mans blood on hand. So how do you kill it?"

"Chop its head off," she replied with confidence. How could she _not_ know that answer? She had some awfully painful memories of watching her dad and brothers do just that.

"Shape shifter," John continued, not feeling a need to even form it into a question.

"Shoot it," Kate began, but hesitated knowing there was more to it but unable to remember what exactly.

"With a…," Dean piped in, wanting to help her. John shot him a silencing look. Dean felt like a little kid being reprimanded all over again.

"…with a gun?" Kate finished, still unsure about what she was saying. Yes, she could have studied more, but she had other things to do. She had 2 group projects due this week and she didn't want to let her group down, so she had been working on those. She might have told her dad that she was studying hunting stuff though. Oops. But Dean knew the truth, which is why he kept trying to review with her in the car on their way to and from school.

"Bang!" John slammed his fist down on the table, causing both Kate and Dean to jump a little in their seats. "Shifter just shot you with your _normal_ gun and _ordinary_ bullets." John's temper was about to burst. "How much did you actually study?"

"I didn't," Kate mumbled quietly. There was no point in lying because the answer was already pretty obvious. Dean felt John's glare burn into him as he dropped his head, suddenly taking an interest in his thumbs.

"What did you just say?" John demanded.

"I said I didn't study. I had more important things to do." Dean looked over at her, silently begging her to stop.

"More important?! What could be more important than learning how to save lives—including ours?" John said as he motioned to all 3 of them.

"School, dad. School is important. I have group projects and I don't want to let my partners down."

"Well you're going to let you own _family_ down when you get us all killed because you used the wrong weapon. Now take this and go sit over there and study," John finished as he held out his journal for her to grab.

Kate stood up and harshly grabbed the journal from his grasp. There was a long pause and Dean was positive he could feel the anger radiating off of John. "No," Kate said as she let the journal fall down on the table, causing an extremely loud _boom_ to resonate through the hotel room.

"I will not have such a disrespectful daughter. Pick up the damn book and go study. You're already walking on thin ice, young lady," John said as he also stood up.

"I don't want to study. And I most definitely don't want to hunt!" Dean heard that thin ice shatter beneath them.

"You're acting like a 4 year old throwing a tantrum!" John said as he started walking to the other side of the table.

"No, you mean I'm acting like Sam did!" Kate yelled. Dean immediately stood up, not liking how this was going and blocked John from reaching the other side of the table.

"Come on, Kate, I'll help you study," Dean begged as he picked up the journal, his eyes pleading Kate to comply. She immediately felt betrayed and she was sure her face showed it. Dean had taken their father's side. Kate took one last look at both men and made her way to the door. She opened it and took off running down to the end of the hall and leaned up against the wall on the other side of an ice machine.

"Damnit it son! Don't you dare go after her!" She heard John yell. Then all she heard was the door slowly close. She shut her eyes, realizing she was really all alone.

She slid down along the wall and sat, pulling her knees in close. She opened up her hand and looked at her phone, thankful she had grabbed it as she stormed out. She felt tears begin burn in her eyelids. She couldn't handle this anymore…Sam leaving, the training, her dad being an ass, Dean not defending her…she had reached her limit.

She opened her cell phone and dialed the number she had long ago memorized. Right now she just needed her best friend. Someone who could make her feel better.

_Ring…Ring…Ring…_

A few tears escaped. Nobody was picking up her call.

_Ring…Ring…_

"Hello?" came the voice through the phone. Kate quickly tried to wipe her tears away and pull herself together to not sound like she had been so upset.

"Hiya, Sam…"

Just with those two words Sam could tell something was wrong. He knew her too well. "Katie? What happened?"

Kate couldn't hold back the tears any longer and they freely started flowing down her cheeks. She didn't even know where to begin.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Your reviews are sweeter than chocolate! Thank you SO much.**

**This chapter is a second part to Chapter 8. A million thanks to Julie for the idea! YAY! ****If you guys have any other ideas/requests, feel free to message me :)**  


******Special thanks to ispiltthemilk! Without her these chapters wouldn't be here! So let's thank her by checking out her wonderful sisfic story! **

**So you don't have to go back and reread that chapter, I'll freshen your memory. Dean saw Kate kiss a boy and freaked out and all around overreacted when he confronted her about it at home. At the end of that chapter, he decided instead of going to kill the little punk, he was going to go to a bar. And that's where this chapter picks up! **

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 3.**

Dean-22

Sam-18

Kate-14

Dean needed to get all this off his mind. He was blindsided. Someone should have warmed him. _Sam _should have warned him. He mentally beat Sam up as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. He peeled out of the hotel parking lot, turning left to head into town. For all Dean had known, Kate still believed boys had cooties. But now she was swapping spit with them, so clearly she had passed Go and moved on. He searched desperately right and left; he needed to find that hole-in-the-wall bar he passed earlier as soon as possible. A cold beer was calling his name.

Dean walked through the doors and let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting inside. He glanced around. There were about 3 other people inside sitting over at a table in the corner. He shrugged his shoulders and headed over to the bar and took a seat on one of the high top chairs. "What can I get ya?" the young, male bartender asked.

"Whatever you got on tap," Dean replied. The bartender filled up a mug and sat it down in front of him.

"I'll have what he's having," came a voice from behind. Dean turned to his right and saw a petite, young, blond girl sit down beside him. The bartender handed the lady her beer.

Dean raised his mug towards her and said, "Cheers."

"Cheers," she replied as they clinked mugs. They sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts as they drank.

"So what brings a pretty lady like you to a run down bar like this?" Dean asked as he looked around the place.

She took one last gulp of beer before responding, "Family drama."

"Ha...I can drink to that." Dean chuckled as he took another sip. He was tempted to pry for more information, but refrained. He cursed both of his siblings. Because of that stupid fight, the infamous Dean charm wasn't kicking in.

"Yeah…my dad…he passed away 9 years ago," she began, dragging Dean away from his thoughts. "Died on a hunting trip. He was from this small, podunk town, so we had him buried here. And...uh...once a year my mom and I make the trip to visit his grave," she finished. Dean looked her in the eyes. It was a look that showed the kind of sympathy only someone who understands what she was feeling could offer up.

"I'm sorry about your dad." Dean didn't know what else to say; he wasn't about to talk about losing his mom. He just couldn't.

"Thanks, but it's fine. Happened so long ago, you know? I was still in pigtails." Dean just nodded his head as they both went back to sipping on their beers.

"And what about you? What family drama brings you to drinking before 5 o'clock?" she asked as she looked up at the tractor clock hanging behind the bar.

"My little sister apparently has raging teenage hormones," Dean replied with a small smile, realizing how stupid it sounded when he said it out loud.

"Well I've been there, done that. But shouldn't your dad be the one sitting here depressed about his little girl growing up?" the blond lady replied with a laugh.

"Yeah, you'd think. Thing is he's usually busy with other stuff," Dean started. The girl raised her eyebrows at his last comment, silently asking for more details. "Yeah..um…with the family business. Hell, I'm the one who's raised her." He took a long drink of his beer. He couldn't believe he was sharing this information with a complete stranger. Heck, he still couldn't believe he wasn't hitting on her. Sam and Kate knew how to ruin the mood.

"Well you probably don't want my advice, but take it from a girl who knows a thing or two. You freak out and blow it out of proportion, you're going to push her away. I think all I did was sneak around with guys and lie after my mom flipped her shit. Trust me, if you act cool about it, she'll be more honest with you later."

Dean smiled at her and raised his glass. "You got a point there, blondie. Thanks," he said genuinely before he got lost in his own thoughts again. This random lady actually had a point. You try to control someone and you end up pushing them away. Dean immediately thought about Sam and his dad. He didn't want that to happen to him and Kate. He didn't want her to resent him. Oh don't get him wrong, he'd _never_ be okay with her doing _anything_ with _anyone_, but it beats the alternative of her sneaking around and getting knocked up in some trailer park when she was supposed to be studying at the library. _Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer_. And these future douche bags definitely fell under the enemy column. His shoulders slumped as he realized what he had to get back to the hotel and do. He finished off his beer and took out his wallet and gave a bill to the bartender. "For both," he said as he nodded towards the girl.

"Thank you…uh…I don't think I ever even got your name," she said.

"Dean," he replied as he held out his hand.

"Thank you, Dean. By the way, I'm Jo." She shook his hand as they made eye contact.

"Well, I have to get going," Dean said as he stood up.

"Good luck with your sister," Jo said with a smile. Dean politely smiled back and made his way back out to the Impala. He took off back towards the hotel, dreading what was coming.

Dean cautiously walked through the door, not sure what to expect on the other side. Sam was sitting at the table on his computer and Kate was on the couch watching TV. They had gotten back from their ice cream run only 15 minutes ago. Sam and Kate looked over at the doorway. All 3 exchanged curious glances with one another.

"Hey Sam, go get us some grub. And pie," Dean said as he threw the keys to Sam. He caught them and gave Dean a confused look.

"But dude, you were just out!" Sam complained. Dean threw him a glare. Sam was always able to decode the true meaning behind the many glares of Dean. It was something he had learned when he was younger. This one was his 'don't-ask-questions-and-just-go' glare. He walked over to Dean and held out his hand. Dean grunted as he pulled out his wallet and slammed a $20 in his hand. Sam smiled triumphantly and headed out, closing the door behind him.

Kate quickly turned back towards the TV and closed her eyes, thinking if she couldn't make eye contact with him, he wouldn't notice her. It had worked when she was little, so why not now? She already knew something was up because the room reeked of awkwardness and it was literally radiating off of Dean in waves. He walked up and took a seat beside her. _"Dammit!"_ she inwardly cursed. He had spotted her. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned off the TV._ "As if it wasn't already awkward enough. Now we have to suffer in silence!"_ Kate didn't like where this was going. An awkward Dean was an unpredictable Dean.

"Katie, listen," he began. "I get that you like boys..and stuff. And I don't like it. Hell, I will _never_ be okay with it. Nobody will ever be good enough, you know? You'll only ever really need me and Sammy anyway. But, uh…just…I...um…" Dean stumbled over his own words. Kate rolled her eyes. Since when did Dean Winchester have trouble with words? "Just don't hide this stuff from me, okay? I promise I won't punch the kid."

Kate scrunched up her face in an 'I-don't-believe-you' look. "Okay, fine. That I can't promise. But I can promise not to kill the little bitch."

"You gotta realize I'm not your little 6 year old sister anymore, Dean," Kate said as he let out a frustrated sigh. "But you got a deal. No sneaking around. However, you have to pinky promise you won't freak out next time! You're so hard to put up with when you morph into annoying, overprotective mode."

"Deal." Dean responded. Kate held up her pinky finger and waited for Dean to do the same. He just stared at her and shook his head no.

"Deeeean, you have to. I know how much the word of a Winchester is worth. It's crap. So you _have_ to pinky promise!" Kate was going to ask for it in writing, but figured he would definitely be opposed to that. Dean looked over his shoulder and all around the room, confirming they were indeed alone. He let out an annoyed grunt as he held up his pinky finger and they interlocked them. Kate smiled and now it was Dean's turn to roll his eyes. How did he let his sister talk him into such stupid stuff? He got up and made his way over to use the laptop, wanting to get away from this girly crap before he started to grow lady parts.

Kate turned back on the TV to help drown out the awkwardness that still filled the air. She couldn't help but let a huge smile escape across her face. She had been dreading the day Sam went off to college and left her with Dean, but now she was thinking it might not be so bad after all. Dean was starting to come around. Well, sort of, but she'd take it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12! I never thought I'd have so many chapters...thank you guys SO much for all of your reviews and adding my story to your favorites and story alerts. I'm loving writing these, so I hope you guys keep enjoying them :)**

**Muchas gracias to ispiltthemilk for her ideas! Let's all give her high fives by going over to check out her crazy good sisfic!**

**Don't forget to review!**

Dean-20

Sam-16

Kate-12

"Sam," Kate said from the bed where she was laying down. There was no response. "Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam." Katie grunted in frustration. He had to be able to hear her. One, he was literally sitting about 15 feet away, at most. Two, there was no way he was _that_ concentrated on the research sprawled out across the table in front of him because three, he was a hunter. It was basically his job to hear anything and everything around him. He was clearly ignoring her on purpose.

All of a sudden the cell phone started vibrating on the table. Sam reached for his phone and saw it said private caller. _"Weird,"_ he thought as he opened the phone. "Hello?"

"Sam. Sam. Sam!" said the voice. Sam slammed his phone shut and turned around to glare at his sister as she was also putting her phone back down.

"Seriously?" Annoyance was clear in his voice.

"You shouldn't ignore me. It could be something super important," she replied nonchalantly.

"Well?"

"I'm thirsty."

Sam's eyes narrowed. "Dean will be back with dinner soon." Normally he didn't care about hanging with his little sister, but this was different.

"But I'm thirsty _now_," Kate complained. A scowl formed on Sam's face. "What? It's not like I wished for this to happen. And I do remember you being involved." She used both hands to point to her right foot that was propped up on top of 3 pillows and wrapped up in a black cast that came halfway up her shin.

"You're really milking this thing, you know," Sam said as he relented and got up. Damn her for knowing the Winchester weakness—feeling guilty. He went over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. He made his way to the bed and handed it to her.

Thanks," Kate replied satisfied.

"Yeah, yeah," Sam mumbled as he took the palm of his hand and quickly rubbed it on Kate's head completely messing up her hair. She smacked his hand away and he retreated back to his table with a smirk.

**FLASHBACK—2 days earlier**

"Deeean, I'm tired. Let's just go home already," Kate complained as she wiped some sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. It was a Saturday afternoon in mid September. The sun was beating down on the 3 Winchester siblings as they all stood in a clearing in the woods. Dean had dragged them out there a few hours ago so they could do some training. Apparently John had left Dean with strict orders to step up the training, especially with Kate, since he thought Dean had been too easy on her lately.

"No. We're done when I say we are. Come on, Sam." Dean looked over at Sam who was finishing off the last of his water. Sam always seemed to draw the short straw when it came to training, now that Kate had become part of it. Being the middle child was not fun. First he had to spar with Dean and then he had to turn around and spar with Kate because somehow it wouldn't be fair for Kate to go up against Dean. No one cared that none of this was fair for him. He hated this and everything else about hunting.

"This is stupid," Kate mumbled under her breath as she kicked some dirt. She could feel Dean's infamous threatening look burn into her, but she refused to make eye contact. Finally Sam made his way over and stood facing her.

"Okay. Now Kate, I want you to really work on what we talked about," Dean said. She just nodded her head and both she and Sam raised their fists up, ready to get this over with.

Sam threw out his right arm, which Kate instantly blocked. She slowly took steps backwards, trying to stay out of Sam's immediate reach. Sam followed her, waiting for her to do something. He didn't like doing this anymore than she did. They exchanged a couple more blocked shots, feeling that it was just becoming more of a poorly choreographed dance routine than anything.

Kate punched her arm towards Sam's chest, but he effortlessly grabbed on to her wrist before she could make contact. He yanked her forward, let go of her wrist, and gave her a good shove backwards.

What Sam didn't see was a large rock planted in the ground behind her. As he pushed her back, her right foot got stopped by the rock and she began to lose her balance and fall. The force of the push caused her to start to fall to the side, but her foot was stuck in front of the rock and couldn't turn with the rest of her body. It was one of those moments where everything seemed to happen in slow motion, but fast enough where there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

_Crack._

It was the only sound the three of them heard as both Sam and Dean rushed over. It took Kate a second to realize what happened. She twisted her body upright and pulled her leg out in front of her and saw her ankle was already swelling up, hurt like a bitch when she tried to move it.

"Kate! Are you ok? I'm so sorry. I didn't me…" Sam was cut off.

"Sam, shut up," Dean commanded as he knelt down beside her. He took one look at her ankle and muttered, "Shit." Kate immediately noticed the worried look on Dean's face. "Can you move your toes?"

Kate shook her head no as tears began to stream down her face. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this much pain. "Ouch! Is it bbbbroken?" she said between sobs.

Instead of answering her, he looked up at Sam. "Grab the stuff while I get her in the car." He placed one arm along her back and the other under her knees and gently picked her up.

"I told you we should have stopped, Dean!" Accident or not, Kate didn't seem to care. She was in pain and needed someone to blame it on. Dean didn't respond to her because he was focused on getting her into the car and getting this fixed. "Ouch..Ouch…" she said as he slowly placed her in the backseat of the Impala with her leg propped up on the seat. "Wwwwhere we going?" She was trying to get her tears under control, not wanting to look like a complete baby in front of her brothers, but the pain took on a mind of its own.

"Hospital," Dean responded firmly as he slipped into the driver's seat. Sam came up and threw the supplies in the front seat and scooted in the back beside Kate. He got up against her back, allowing her to rest on him. He wrapped both arms around her as Dean took off down the path.

As he turned onto the main road, Sam loosed his grip a little, since the ride was now a bit smoother. Kate was quietly sniffling as she closed her eyes to not focus on the throbbing sensation in her ankle. It killed them to see Kate in pain like this, but neither of them knew what to say. Sam took his hand and brushed it along the top of Kate's head in slow, soothing strokes, trying to calm her down. "It's going to be ok," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head. He didn't know what else to do.

Dean glanced in the rear view mirror and caught Sam's eye. He could tell that he was already blaming himself. Sure Kate and Sam have had their fair share of rough housing and cuts and scrapes, but Sam had never hurt Kate this bad, even if it was just an accident. Dean reflexively pushed down on the gas pedal harder—wanting to get into town _now_. He wanted to tell Sam to stop blaming himself because it wasn't really Sam's fault...it was his. He should have just left earlier when Kate had wanted to, but instead he forced them to push on even though he knew they were both exhausted and not on top of their game. He should have known something was going to happen. He cursed at himself as he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

**END FLASHBACK**

"Food's here!" Dean announced as he walked through the motel door, holding up 2 large bags.

"Bout time!" Sam said he picked up his chair and took it over to sit beside Kate's bed. Dean tossed him one of the bags as he sat down on the bed beside his sister. He pulled out a cheeseburger and fries.

"And for the cripple," Dean said as he handed her the food. She didn't reach up to grab it.

"I'm feeling so weak," Kate said in a fake raspy voice, adding an even more fake cough.

Dean looked over at Sam, silently asking if he had missed something. Sam just shrugged his shoulder and shook his head no. "You broke your ankle. Not your arms," Dean said. Kate threw on the puppy dog eyes. "Oh hell no. I'm not freaking feeding you."

Kate's puppy dog eyes instantly turned into a pout. She thought she had both of them wrapped around her finger, but she guessed it all had to wear off eventually.

"Fine," Kate said as she grabbed her food and sat it down on her lap. "Can I have some of your onion rings?" Kate said as she shoved a fry in her mouth and saw Dean get his own food out of the paper bag.

Dean instinctively pulled the onion rings closer to him, out of her reach. "No."

"Hey, I'm pretty sure this is half your fault anyway," she replied as both of their gazes went to her cast.

Kate knew how to pull on their guilt strings. Dean reluctantly held his onion rings out for her to grab a handful. She noticed Dean's face and how he obviously still felt really bad about what had happened. Now Kate felt bad for making HIM feel bad. Round and round the Winchesters go, where the guilt stops, nobody knows.

Kate picked up her fries with her free hand and held them up in front of Dean. "Ya want some?" Dean cautiously searched her face for any form of hidden sarcasm behind those words. When he saw that she was actually being sincere, he reached and grabbed a few fries. She turned to Sam and offered him some too since he had only ordered some sort of healthy salad shaker thing. He noticed how genuine she was being for a change, so he grabbed a few fries. They all three smiled to themselves as they continued to eat their dinner and watch _Wheel of Fortune_. The Winchesters weren't so much a family of words as they were a family who spoke through food. And Sam and Dean inwardly knew that offering to share food was the Winchester way of offering forgiveness and moving on.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello, everyone! Thank you for the reviews and adding my story to your alerts/favorites! **

**This chapter is actually part 1 of 2! YAY! I should post the next part in a couple days. I just started graduate school this past week and I am already buried under homework. Ugh.  
But anyway, strap yourself in because its going to be an emotional ride!**

**Please review! They give me extra motivation to write more and post faster *hint hint* :)  
p.s. Don't forget to send me your ideas for things you'd like to see included in future chapter!  
**

**Disclaimer-See Chapter 3.**

Dean-24

Sam-20

Kate-15

Kate slowly took another sip of her coffee, trying to warm up her body. It wasn't really working though. She was too numb to feel anything. She leaned back in her chair and ran her hand through her wavy, brown hair. Not sleeping the last few days was really starting to catch up with her.

She couldn't stand sitting so far away anymore, so she sat her coffee down and dragged the chair closer to the bed. She rested her elbows on the bed and laid the left side of her head down, so she could face Dean. She hated seeing him like this and knowing there was nothing she could do. He was laying there, half propped up on the bed sleeping. He looked so lifeless.

_Beep…Beep…Beep_

The constant rhythm of the heart monitor slowly drifted Kate back in time…

**FLASHBACK-2 days ago**

"Kate!" John yelled as he came barging through the door. Kate immediately put her book down and looked over to see John holding on to Dean. John practically had to drag him into the room. Dean's body didn't seem like it was able to support its own weight.

"What happened? Is he ok?" Kate felt panic settle in as her heart started racing out of control. She ran over to help John sit Dean down on the side of the bed. Dean's blood covered shirt caught her eye. "DAD! What. Happened." She wasn't in the mood to deal with John ignoring her questions. Something was wrong with _her_ brother and she needed an explanation.

"Damn demon got a hold of him," John said as he helped Dean get his blood-stained shirt off. His eyes were slowly drooping as if he was falling in and out of consciousness. John put a hand on Dean's shoulder to steady his swaying body. Having been through this process a million times before, Kate instinctively went over to Dean's duffle to grab a new shirt. As she came back over, she saw a huge, poorly stitched, gash across his abdomen. It looked like a clear liquid was seeping out of it. Kate immediately knew this wasn't like the other times her brother had come home bleeding.

"He needs a doctor!" She slammed the shirt into John's chest.

"I fixed him up," John said. Kate could clearly see _he_ had done it, with it being such a piss poor job and all. John helped Dean slip into the clean shirt. Dean seemed like a little kid again, unable to dress himself. His eyes fluttered open and closed as he tried to stay focused on the shirt.

"He needs a _real_ doctor." Kate had seen enough beaten up and battered Dean, Sam, and John to know the fine line between 'I can survive this with some floss and alcohol' and 'I need the real stuff'.

"'m fine," Dean said, causing both Kate and John to stop and look at him. Kate breathed a sign of relief. At least he was still aware of what was going on around him.

"Now get the first aid kit and keep an eye on him. He'll be fine by morning," John said as he helped Dean lay down on the bed so he could rest.

"Let's take him to the hospital," Kate pleaded one last time.

"No, 'm 'kay." Dean didn't seem to have enough energy to even form the complete words. He was barely moving his lips when he spoke.

"Katelyn, that's enough. He's gonna be fine. Now you stay here with him. I'm going back after that demon. I think it has information we need. You take care of him," John finished as he gave Dean a soft squeeze on the shoulder and headed out the door, leaving Kate without a chance to argue more.

She turned to Dean. She hadn't realized how pale his face was. "You're _not_ okay." She was beyond concerned. The last time she had seen Dean this bad was about 5 years ago…and, well, she refused to think about it. Now she was forced to pick up the pieces alone this time, thanks to John's sudden, yet not shocking, exit.

"Yea, 'm good...don-worry. Batman-can't-die." His words were all slurred together, coming out as one long, mumbled bunch. "'ma sleep n be fine," he finished as he gently laid his hands down beside himself and closed his eyes.

Kate crawled into the other side of the bed and sat up against the headboard. She didn't take her eyes off of Dean until she noticed that his breathing had evened out, telling her he was finally asleep. The scrunched up, painful look on his face told her it wasn't a peaceful sleep. She wasn't going to leave Dean alone and there was no way she was going to sleep tonight. She couldn't get rid of the unsettling feeling in her stomach. She wondered if this was how Dean felt everytime her or Sammy got hurt or were sick. She couldn't handle it.

**END FLASHBACK**

Kate reached over and snatched her phone off of the nightstand. Another jolt of anger surged through her when she saw John _still_ hadn't called her back. He didn't even care his son was in the hospital suffering from his poor medic skills. Kate figured he was ignoring her calls because he didn't want to have to admit he was wrong about the severity of Dean's injuries. Kate had stuck with her gut feeling ever since John brought Dean back. She's been around Dean her entire life, so she's learned to tell when something was wrong because Dean was never one to come out and admit it. He always had his 'game face' on, as he put it. And when Kate noticed Dean's fever had gotten worse through the night and how he had kept shivering, she knew she had to do something. John should have just listened to her from the beginning and they wouldn't even be in this situation. But instead she had to take a very injured Dean to the hospital yesterday morning and come up with a totally bogus story so the cops wouldn't be after them. So here she was, still a his bedside a little over 24 hours after he had been admitted. She was not going to leave him, and its not like she had anywhere else to go anyway.

Kate reached her free hand over and gently poked at Dean's hand a few times. She had hoped he would wake up and yell at her to get out of his personal space, but instead she got nothing. He didn't even flinch. The doctors said he had a severe infection from that poorly closed wound and great blood loss. They said the prognosis was good, but Kate wasn't convinced. Dean wasn't awake yet, so nothing was good. She wasn't about to believe he was going to be okay until she saw it with her own two eyes. In the Winchester line of work, seeing was believing.

Kate felt so helpless just sitting there. He was the strong one who always took care of _her_, but now he just looked so weak as he laid there. Kate couldn't do this alone. She needed help. She needed her _family_.

She opened up her phone and redialed the same familiar numbers. Nobody picked up and she wasn't surprised. She had stopped being shocked about 20 calls ago, but she left another pleading message. Watching the one person you looked up to suffer was never in Kate's 'I-can-handle-this' category. She closed her phone and wiped a few stray tears from her face. She laid her head down on top of her arms on Dean's bed. She was beginning to think that caffeine was having the reverse effect on her. She slowly drifted off into sleep, and was slowly awoken when she heard someone calling her name.

"Kate. Katie." She shot her head up, shaking it slightly as she tried to get her vision to adjust to the dim lighting in the room since the sun had already set. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was. Not sleeping in over 2 days was harder than her family made it seem. Her gaze immediately went to Dean as she silently hoped it was him who was calling her name. He looked exactly the same as before. Eyes closed. Mouth set in place. Shallow breathing. Constant heart monitor beeping. She slumped her head back down, figuring it had all been in her head.

"Hey, Katie," came a harsh whisper. No, she definitely didn't make that one up. She cautiously lifted her head towards the room entrance. A wave of relief washed over her face as she saw who it was.

"You came!" She ran over and wrapped her arms around him. "I didn't think you would."

He wrapped his arms even tighter around her, not able to even remember the last time they had hugged. "I always said I'd be there for you."

Kate felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. She didn't have to go through this alone anymore. She looked up at him with a huge smile. "I'm so glad you're here, Sam."


	14. Chapter 14

**Here's Part 2! I hope you guys enjoy it. Don't forget to read and review please! Let me know what you thought. Your feedback really does help me :)**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 3.**

Dean-24

Sam-20

Kate-15

_"I'm so glad you're here, Sam."_

Kate gave him one last tight squeeze before she let go and they made their way into the hospital room. "So tell me what happened exactly. In your voicemails, you were kind of all over the place," he said as he pulled up the other spare chair next to hers and they both settled in at Dean's bedside. Kate began to retell everything that had happened since John dragged Dean through the motel door, not holding back how she really felt. If there was anyone who could understand how manic and irresponsible John could be, it was Sam.

"You did the right thing by bringing him here. But it's not shocking that Dad still doesn't have his priorities straight," Sam replied as he rested a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know…I just don't like seeing Dean like this. I mean the last time he was like this...I just…" She trailed off, not able to bring herself to finish the sentence.

"Yeah, I remember..." Sam trailed off. He did recall that day very well and he could tell from Kate's voicemails that she had been thinking about it too. He knew he had to be there for her because a gravely injured brother wasn't something you wanted to handle alone. He had arranged to take an exam early and got on the first flight he could. "But Dean's gonna pull through. I mean with all the crap he's went up against, he's not gonna go out from some wimpy infection. Doesn't seem dramatic enough for him." He paused. "No. He's gonna go out with guns blazing, fire in the background, the whole works." Sam managed to get a small smile and laugh from Kate. He always knew how to comfort her. There was a beat of silence as they both looked at Dean, each lost in their own thoughts.

"So how's Jess?" Kate wanted to change the subject as some tears threatened to spill over.

"Wow…uh…you have a great memory there," Sam replied jokingly. He cheeks started to turn red.

"See, I'm smarter than you guys give me credit for!"

"She's…good. I guess you can say we really like each other and are…uh..._dating_ now." Kate felt her chest swell up with happiness—Sam totally deserved this.

"Well at least one of us is getting some action, Sammy," Kate joked as she playfully shoved him in the arm. "I'm glad to hear it. I really am." Sam smiled back at her, suddenly thankful that even though he had left his family, he could still stay close with his little sister.

They spend the rest of the evening joking and catching up, just like the good old days. Having Sam nearby had a calming effect on her. She felt less panicked and stressed about Dean now. At some point late into the night, they both drifted off into an uncomfortable slumber in their chairs, both extremely exhausted.

Kate squinted her eyes open as the sun rudely struck them. She looked around the room. Dean was still the same and Sam was…not there. A knot was stuck in her throat as she stood up and searched the whole room. There was no way she had dreamed up Sam.

"Got ya something," Sam said as he walked in carrying 2 cups. Kate felt her body relax as she sat back down, silently rejoicing that she wasn't going crazy. She'd have to go to a whole other hospital for that. He went over and handed her a cup as he sat back down. Kate smiled in thanks as she took a sip and practically choked on it. "What the-."

"It's tea." Sam knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Sam, I'm not a tea drinking, hold-your-pinky-in-the-air, English pansy. Do you even _know _me? Get me the good stuff!" she said as she help the cup up towards Sam.

"I do know you and you're too young to be addicted to coffee," he replied as he gently pushed the cup away. Oh the never-ending argument among the Winchester siblings. Kate was pretty sure Dean was addicted before he was even a teenager and Sam was around her age when he started chugging the stuff. But yet again she was held to a completely different standard than they were, and this time he was making a big deal over _coffee_. She could never win.

"Fine, but it'll be your fault when Grumpy Kate comes to town. So I don't wanna hear you bitch." She slowly forced down a few more gulps. There was no way she was going to be able to finish this, at least not right now. She set it over on a stand as Sam started to talk.

"Just talked to the doc on my way back and he says Dean's shown great improvement and it's only a matter of time before he wakes up now."

Kate's eyes lit up. "Really?!"

"Yeah, it's basically up to him when he wants to wake up. So anyway... I think it's best I take off soon." Kate's face dropped.

"Wow. Talk about mood swings…Please don't go, Sam. Stay and see Dean when he wakes up! He'll be excited to see you. I know he will."

"Come on, you know I can't. If he had wanted to see me or even keep in touch, he's had plenty of changes. I came for you more than him anyway." He placed a hand on her shoulder as he sat down his coffee cup beside hers. Kate put on her best puppy dog, begging face. She felt like she had been perfecting it her whole life for this one moment. She anxiously waited for it to take effect. "Katie, I practically invented that. Not gonna work." She immediately felt like her years of practice had been worthless.

Dean started to shift in the bed, letting out a small cough. Kate gave Sam a look of excitement mixed with horror. She was happy because Dean was starting to regain consciousness, but she was panicked because she knew Dean had just upped Sam's departure time to _now_.

"Dean always knows how to ruin a moment. I don't want you to—"

"Katie, don't. Please. Dean's going to be ok. And I know you will be too. You'll take care of him and you don't even need me around now. Just text me and keep me updated, ok? We'll talk soon." Sam started towards the door. They overheard Dean rustling slightly in the sheets.

"Thank you for coming…I wouldn't have made it without you…"

"Don't mention it—seriously." He searched her face for confirmation that she understood what he really meant. She slowly nodded her head and she gave him one last hug.

"Kkaa..kkaatee," Dean said in a raspy voice between coughs. He was slowly opening his eyes and trying to adjust to his surroundings. He could have sworn he heard her voice.

Kate's eyes pleased one last time with Sam, but she was met with an apologetic and regretful look as he took off down the hall, waving back to her over his shoulder. Kate offered a small wave back before she turned back into the room and went straight to Dean's side.

"Bout time. Oh and you're officially grounded for scaring me like that, you know," she joked as she laid a hand on his shoulder. She suddenly felt her eyes water up. She didn't know if those were tears of sadness from her brother leaving or tears of happiness because her other brother just woke up. It was too much to process. Winchesters weren't built to deal with multiple emotions at once and she was experiencing 'feeling overload' right now. Dean offered her a small smile. "I'll go get the nurse," she said as she gave his hand a light squeeze before heading to the door. She needed a moment to collect herself.

"'ey…hot…nurse," Dean managed to get out. Kate smiled and rolled her eyes. Leave it Dean to wake up from a deep sleep and only think about having a hot nurse.

Kate walked into the hall and rested up against the wall beside Dean's room. She closed her eyes and took a few moments to pull herself together. After a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes and looked up and down the hall. _"Ah-ha!"_ she thought as she spotted the only male nurse she had seen on the floor. _"He'll do. This is what Dean gets for thinking it was okay to get sick like that."_

Kate went back to the room with the _male_ nurse, much to Dean's disappointment. Kate took a seat in the chair while the nurse checked Dean's vitals. He left with telling them he'd let the doctor know he was awake.

Dean rolled his head over to the other side so he was facing Kate. "Dad here?" Kate followed his gaze to the empty chair beside her.

"Uh…no. He left after he dropped you off the motel to go finish the job."

"Oh." Kate couldn't help but notice the disappointment in his voice. Dean would never admit it and would always say their dad had their best interests in mind, but there was a small part of him that had hoped John would be there this time.

"Who were ya talkin' to before?" Dean whispered, still feeling very weak.

Kate's eyes widened as she realized Dean must have overheard her talking with Sam before he left. "Oh..um…it was…no one." Cops, doctors, lawyers, teacher…you name it and Kate could lie to them without batting an eyelash, but when it came to Dean, she was a pitiful liar. It was embarrassing for her to admit, but somehow Dean had this almighty power over her that made her stumble over lies. And he was well aware of it too.

"Got 'nother imaginary friend?" Leave it to Dean to remember her imaginary friend from her childhood. She breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't called her out on the lie they both knew she told.

"Yeah, and she doesn't like you either because you snore like a freight train. I think you woke up every spirit in this damn hospital. So get better cuz we got work to do." Kate and Dean shared a small laugh.

"Get me water?" Dean asked. Kate nodded her head as she went out to the hall to find that male nurse again.

Dean turned his gaze over to the small table at the end of his bed. He noticed 2 cups sitting there. He looked over at the 2 chairs again. Obviously Kate's story didn't add up. He knew that someone had been there with her, but he couldn't figure out why she would lie to him about it. He knew she must have been freaking out if he was unconscious for so long, and probably wanted someone there with her. It suddenly occurred to him that there was only one person Kate would call if she was panicking—Sam. Which is why she lied to him about there being another person. They didn't exactly leave things on BFF terms. _"That little bitch_." Dean smiled, as he affectionately cursed Sam. He was suddenly overcome with this weird emotion. It was an overwhelming feeling and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was sure Kate had called his dad when he was admitted to the hospital, but obviously John didn't think it was necessary to show up. But Sam on the other hand, even after leaving on such bad terms with each other, he had shown up at the hospital to be there for both him and Kate. Dean suddenly realized what his mystery feeling was…he felt _hopeful_. It was a strange, but great, feeling to him. He finally felt like there was that little sliver of hope that they could all be together as a family again one day.

Dean never brought up that he knew the truth to Kate when she came back with his water, or even to Sam years later. And Kate and Sam never spoke about it again either. Some things were better left unsaid. Even with all the fighting, bitching, joking, and not talking, when it came to the Winchester siblings, family was always going to be there for each other no matter what, because family bonds run much deeper than the surface.


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you for adding my story to your favorites and story alerts! I know I sound like a broken record, but please review! I love hearing your feedback and it does help me a lot :)**

**Shout out to ispiltthemilk for all of her help and ideas! Without her, I wouldn't have made it this far. So let's all show her some love by checking out her great series sisfic!**

**This chapter has 2 separate stories in it. Yay for a double feature! I hope you enjoy!**

Dean-14

Sam-10

Kate-5

It was your average Wednesday afternoon for the Winchesters. John had taken Sam out to practice with a bow and arrow, leaving Dean to look after Kate for a while. Katie was sprawled out on the floor between the couch and TV, lost in her favorite activity, coloring. Somewhere between the last 2 towns, she had managed to lose her coloring book and in an attempt to stop her from bugging him about it so much, Dean had dug into his backpack and given her a bunch of his school papers so she could draw on the back of them. Kate bit her tongue as she put the finishing touches on her latest masterpiece. Dean walked over and plopped down on the couch and switched on the TV.

"De, look!" Katie held up her picture for Dean to see.

"Cool. Good job." His voiced lacked any hint of emotion. Heck, he didn't even take his eyes off of the TV. He'd seen enough of her 'pictures' lately and lost interest.

"But you didn't look!" She was upset Dean didn't take an interest in the drawing she had worked so hard on for a whole 10 minutes. She stood up and held the picture right in his face. "See! It's the 'pala."

"_Im_pala," Dean corrected as he took the picture into his hands, not seeing another option. He looked at it and smiled. Kate definitely followed along with the rest of the Winchesters in their lack of creative drawing ability.

"Its for you!" She clapped her hands together, excited.

"Wow. Thanks," Dean responded with little enthusiasm. This was about the 20th picture she had made 'just for him' in the past 2 days. He sat it down on the couch beside him and grabbed the remote to turn on the TV volume.

"I want juice," Katie announced.

"Okay." Dean gently pushed her aside so he could get back to watching his show and Katie was blocking his view.

She noticed that he wasn't getting up. "But I want juice _now_."

Dean let out a small grunt in annoyance. "Katie, you're 5. Walk to the freaking fridge and get a juice box. It's not rocket science." She crossed her arms, stuck out her bottom lip, and stomped her way over to the fridge.

She opened it up and searched all around for some juice, but was disappointed when she saw there weren't any more. She started to look for other options…milk…water…oh! Her eyes lit up as she grabbed the brown bottle. She slowly raised it to her lips and started to take a sip.

"Close the door before you let all the cold—," Dean began to yell over as he turned around on the couch to see her. When he saw what he was drinking, he jumped up and was over in front of her in one swift movement. "What are you _doing?!_" He harshly grabbed the bottle out of her hands.

"It hurts!" Katie said as she put her hand up to her throat. Dean placed the bottle back in the fridge and closed the door. "It didn't taste like before."

Dean knelt down to her eye level. "When did you drink this before?!" Dean's eyes grew wide as he impatiently waited for her to respond.

"'member? Sammy dranked it at the diner. It's root beer. It looks the same, but this one made my mouth _hurt_!"

"That," Dean pointed to the fridge, "is not the same as Sam's. That's a drink just for Dad's!" He grabbed on to her upper arm. "You're not allowed to ever EVER touch that stuff!"

She didn't understand why Dean was so upset with her. Her bottom lip began to quiver. "But I didn't mean to be bad. There's no more juice, De."

"I know, but it's just…" Dean paused as he tried to figure out how he was going to explain this to his 5 year old sister. "That's not root beer, ok? It's a drink for grownups and it's bad for you. Just don't ever touch it, or anything like it, again. You understand?" He noticed that tears began to fill her eyes and he suddenly felt bad for reacting so harshly, but seeing her with a beer in her hands sent him over the edge. How could his dad be so careless?! His dad never thought about the kids and Dean was always the one to be there to clean up his messes. He shouldn't have to worry about his little sister getting into beer because of his dad's negligence. Deep down he knew he should be yelling at John and not at Katie.

"Why does Daddy drink it if its bad?" Dean knew that one day he was going to miss seeing such innocence in her eyes. She really had no idea about their dad.

"Cuz it…uh…it helps dad forget things," he said as he silently prayed she would accept his answer and move on.

"Oh." Dean closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't play another round of 20 questions with him. "Dean, you're hurting me," Katie said as she tried to wiggle her arm out of his grasp. He hasn't even realized he was still holding on to her.

"Oh, sorry." He let go as he stood back up and looked around, trying to figure out what to do next. Katie looked up at him waiting for him to say something. "Well, come on midget, how about we go get you some juice?" Dean needed to get out of his motel room and calm down before John got back or he wasn't sure what would come out of his mouth.

"Yay!" Katie rejoiced as she skipped over to the door with Dean following behind. She had clearly forgotten everything that just happened, not realizing how important it had been. It was something Dean wouldn't be able to get out of his mind for a long time.

.

Dean-16

Sam-12

Katie-7

"Sam _is_ super yucky gross!" Katie said as she burst into a giggling fit. Sam's head shot up from his homework on the kitchen table as he glared over to his little sister sitting on the floor.

"Shut up Katie!" Sam yelled. She always got under his skin when she started to play her stupid games.

She ignored Sam's outburst. "You're right! He does have a pumpkin head!" She started laughing again. Sam turned to the other side to see Dean standing facing the counter. He hadn't even turned around to acknowledge something was going on. Sam just grunted and went back to his homework, deciding it wasn't even worth fighting with her over. "Do you want more?" Katie asked. She paused and waited for a response. "Ok, I'll get you some!" She got up and went into the small kitchen. She kept tapping Dean in the side until he acknowledged her.

"What?" Dean asked annoyed as he looked down at her.

"We need more crackers. Lucy is hungry." Dean glanced over to where Katie had been sitting and took a deep breath.

"I think you've had enough," he said firmly.

"Deeeeannn...that's not nice. She's my _friend_."

"She's hardly a friend," Sam mumbled causing both Katie and Dean to turn around to him sitting at the kitchen table. Sam couldn't pass up an opportunity to bug his sister; she deserved it after all the stuff she keeps saying about him.

"Well she's not _your_ friend. She's mine. And we need crackers." Katie turned her attention back to Dean.

"Fine. But tell your friend—," Dean was cut off.

"Lucy! That's her name," Katie clarified.

"Ok. Tell _Lucy_ no more crackers after this," Dean said as he handed her a small packet of Ritz crackers. Katie nodded her head as she went back over to sit down.

"See, told you I'd get them!" she said as she opened up the packet and started splitting the crackers up.

Sam leaned back in his chair and turned towards Dean. "You really shouldn't let her do that," Sam said in a hushed tone so only Dean could hear.

"She's fine." Dean couldn't believe he was defending her on this one.

"But it's not right," Sam said as he gestured towards Katie on the floor.

Dean stepped closer to Sam, he didn't want Katie overhearing them. "Yes it is. It's _normal_. So let it alone, Sam," Dean finished. He was frustrated that Sam was so against Katie just being an average 7 year old. He wanted her to experience all the normal things she could while she still had the chance.

"Whatever," Sam said as he turned around and stared back down at his homework.

The door creaked open and John came into the room. He had been at the local library trying to get as much information as he could on his latest hunt. "Hey Daddy," Katie said up at him from her spot on the floor.

"Hey peanut," he said as he tousled her hair and continued on towards the kitchen.

"AAAHHH!" Everyone turned to Katie and froze, each Winchester instantly trying to remember where the nearest weapon was located. "Daaaad! You stepped on Lucy's leg!" John's eyes scanned the area where he just walked. If he had trampled on top of someone's leg, he thought he would have noticed.

"Katie, there's no one there." John motioned towards the floor by her.

"Yeah-huh. Lucy came over to eat crackers and you broke her leg! Now I gots to fix it. That was very mean, daddy," Kate said as she shook her index finger at him.

_"Did I just get scolded by my 7 year old?"_ John wondered. He had no idea what was going on and was slightly concerned now. He turned to Dean and he motioned for John to come into the kitchen. Once John was there, he raised his eyebrows and hands at Dean, asking for an explanation.

"Lucy is her imaginary friend," Dean explained as they both looked over at Katie again, who was now pretending to "doctor" up her friend.

"Oh…uh…wow." John needed a moment. This was definitely something new for him. "And she thinks its _real_?"

"Yeah...," Dean replied.

"But did you check it out?" John asked, suddenly lowering his voice.

"Dad, all kids her age make up this kind of stuff," Dean explained, wondering why his dad didn't know any of this stuff. He really needed to spend more time with Katie.

"I never did!" Sam piped up, always eager to add his two cents.

Dean glared at him. "Yeah, well you were a freak and couldn't even find anyone that wanted to be your _imaginary_ friend."

"Dean…," John lightly warned. Dean's gaze dropped to the floor. "But did you check into it…like you know…"

Dean's head popped up with a huge smile on his face. He just realized what John really meant. "Dad. It's not a ghost or spirit or anything. I made sure already."

John was amazed how much his son thought just like him. He smiled, suddenly relieved he could spare his daughter a bit longer from finding out about the supernatural. He gave Dean a pat on the back as Katie came up to both of them. "Lucy needs a doctor! I need help." Her gaze went from John to Dean and back to John.

"Oh…no, I shouldn't help because I bet she's mad at me for breaking it, but Dean here will patch her up just right," John said as he gave his oldest son a slight push towards Katie.

"Ok, but hurry! She's crying." Katie started back towards the area on the floor where she had been sitting. Dean gave his dad a pleading look but was met with a loud chuckle and smile from him. Dean slumped his shoulders and reluctantly started walking.

"Go be 'normal', Dean," Sam mocked. Dean smacked him on the back of the head as he continued towards Katie. He was suddenly regretting the fact that he had encouraged this whole imaginary friend thing in the first place.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! So I think this might be my last chapter for a while. I _really_ enjoy writing all this, but I've been a little low on motivation lately. I see the high number of views each chapter gets and I'm humbled that so many people have stuck around for so long, but at the same time I only get around 3 reviews each chapter from the same (wonderful!) people...so I get slightly discouraged. I'm not sure if people aren't liking how the chapters are or if you are indeed enjoying them...ANY feedback, good or bad, really does help more than you think! I enjoy knowing what you like/don't like so I can incorporate that into future chapters. You can even PM me if you don't want to post a review. So sadly, unless there's a consensus that people actually want me to keep going, I'm going to make like SPN and go on a hiatus until I can channel some motivation to write the next chapter. **

**Special shout out to ispiltthemilk, sweetkiwi604 and Mayrem...you guys are amazing :)**

**As always, I hope everyone enjoys!**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 3. **

Dean-25

Kate-16

Welcome to Nebraska, the latest destination where John decided his remaining 2 kids should set up camp while they kick evil's ass. Kate had been at this new school since the beginning of her sophomore year. A whole 2 months of hell. She began to notice a trend at all these small town schools her dad forced her into—they all instantly labeled her the 'new girl' and found everything about her to be weird. It all stopped shocking her after the first 27 times. She was basically immune to it now.

John took off over 3 weeks ago when he got a call from Bobby Singer saying he needed some help up in South Dakota. He left some money with Dean to cover a few expenses, but it was quickly draining. And Dean couldn't hustle pool anymore in this small town because the locals were starting to catch on. Money was tight for them; so much so that Dean relented and they applied, and were accepted, for free lunches at school for Kate. She didn't care though—she would do anything to help them get by and give Dean less stuff to stress over. But the thing was, everyone in her class seemed to be aware of her family's financial status.

Kate's quiet and withdrawn demeanor always made her a target for the popular kids and whenever people would make fun of her, Sam had always told her to ignore them. John, and even Dean, had instilled in her to stay out of trouble in school. It just wasn't worth the fight and risk of CPS being on their trail.

Today was just like any other boring Tuesday. Kate got up and threw on her skinny jeans and ACDC hand-me-down tshirt. She threw her hair up in a messy bun and she was out the door. Thankfully even after Sam left, Dean had agreed to let Kate walk to school by herself, just as long as she sent a text when she arrived. The morning was the worst—History, Biology and P.E. Finally lunch came and she sat alone and ate her spaghetti-and-meatball-surprise lunch. Once she was done, she made her way outside to her favorite spot under a tree and opened up her book, _To Kill a Mockingbird_ and she was whisked away into the imaginary world where monster's didn't exist.

"You know W squared? I mean how freaky is she!" said a blond girl. Kate's eyes instantly looked up from her book and tried to figure out where the voice was coming from. She recently learned about her new nickname—W squared, Wierdo Winchester. Once she spotted the group of girls standing over to her right, she looked back down at her book, but continued to listen to what was on Bitch Radio today.

"I know! Like she doesn't even _try_ to make friends," said another girl as she twirled her hair.

"I bet she has some kind of social disorder." Kate still wasn't hearing anything she hadn't heard before.

"I mean even if she does, who can blame her. Do you know what kind of family she comes from?! Her dad left her and now her _brother_ raises her. They have like _no_ money." Without even noticing it, Kate's grip had tightened around her book. Things were starting to get a little too personal for her now.

"Yeah, haven't you heard? She gets free lunches and all." Kate _hated_ small town gossip. One way or another everyone found out.

"My dad says her brother is always at the bar. I bet he spends all his money there." Kate smirked, if only they knew it was actually the opposite. She hoped it was one of their dad's money he had hustled a few weeks ago.

"I bet he hates her too because obviously he doesn't let her shop in the girls section. Just look at the clothes she wears! Hello! She looks like a boy."

At the last comment, Kate dropped her book on the grass and stood up and walked over to them. They can say all they want about her, but she'd be dammed if they talked bad about her family anymore.

"You got something to say about me? Say it to my face, bitch." Kate's tone was low and showed she was not messing around.

"Oh Kate. It's stuff you already know. How your brother chooses beer over you and must wish you were a boy because he surely makes you dress like one…or wait. I know. It's probably because you're dirt poor and can't even afford a decent shirt from the Good Will up the street," the blond girl said. Kate felt her hands form fists at her side. She was fighting every urge inside her telling her to beat the crap out of this blond haired bitch.

"I mean your family is so fucking poor that they can't even afford to feed your sorry ass," said the black haired girl that Kate recognized from History class as Paige.

It was a split second decision, one she probably did not think all the way through. Kate lunged at Paige, knocking her to the ground. Kate raised her fist and slammed it into her face before Paige had a change to cover it.

"Mrs. Lewis! Mrs. Lewis!" Kate could hear them calling out for a teacher, but she didn't care. She raised her fist again and connected it with Paige's face. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and harshly yanked off of the girl. Her arms were pinned behind her back as she looked back with anger in her eyes and saw it was the gym teacher, Mr. Stillman. Mrs. Lewis, the English teacher, finally arrived at the scene.

"Miss Winchester. What has gotten into you? Mr. Stillman, get her to the principal's office right away. I'll get Paige to the nurse," Mrs. Lewis said as she knelt down beside Paige to help her.

Mr. Stillman gripped her arm hard as he began to drag her into the building. "Do you mind telling me what happened back there?" Kate kept her gaze on the floor as she stumbled along from his harsh pulling. She was not going to tell this guy what happened. Telling him meant telling the principal. Which _then_ meant telling Dean. And she couldn't do that. She didn't need Dean knowing that they were making fun of how poor she was and her hand-me-down clothes. Dean did the best he could and she knew that. He didn't need to feel guilty or stressed, and she knew he would feel both if he found out. This was something she had to keep quiet to protect _him_ for a change.

When Mr. Stillman didn't receive a response, he gripped her arm tighter as they turned into the principal's office. He let go of her and gestured towards a few chairs along the wall inside the office. Kate slowly went over to take a seat. "Do you mind pulling Miss Winchester's file? We're going to need her brother to come in so they can all have a chat with the principal. She seems to think fighting is the best way to solve problems today."

The secretary began looking through the rolodex of contact information. Mr. Stillman stepped into the principal's small office and explained to him what had happened. They both came out and stopped in front of Kate, who was still staring at the floor.

"Did you get his number?" Mr. Jones, the principal, asked.

"Yes," the secretary answered as she handed him a slip of paper with the number.

"Kate, why don't you step into my office then. We have a phone call to make. You can explain to Dean why he has to come in here," Mr. Smith said. Kate's eyes shot up. Her heart began racing and she was panicking. No, no, no. _They_ were supposed to call him so she would have time to come up with something to say. He motioned for her to step into his office and she slowly stood up and shuffled her way in and took a seat in front of his desk. Mr. Jones didn't waste any time. He closed the door and quickly made his way over to the desk and was already dialing the number. He put it on speakerphone and Kate felt her heart jump into her throat.

_…Ring…_

_"Don't pick up…please don't…,"_ Kate silently pleaded.

_…Ring…_

_"Pleas—."_

"Hello?" She squeezed her eyes shut at hearing his voice.

"Hello, Mr. Winchester?"

"Yeah, this is Dean."

"Hi, Dean. This is Nick Jones, the principal at Greenview High School. I'm sorry to call you today, but I have Kate here in my office right now."

"What happened? Is she okay?" Dean asked, suddenly very concerned. Normally a call from the school meant she was sick.

"Unfortunately we had some trouble with her at school today and I'm going to have to ask you to come in. Kate is going to explain to you why." Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to fly out of her chest. Mr. Jones shifted his gaze to Kate.

"Um…hi Dean," she started. She wondered how long she could put this off.

"Kate, just tell me what's going on!" He was starting to get anxious.

She felt the taunting glare of the principal reining down on her and knew she needed to just get it over with. "Well…I got into a fight today at recess and might have punched a girl," Kate spilled it all out in one breath.

"Might have?" Dean repeated, his voice suddenly changing from worried to pissed.

"I _definitely_ might have punched her…twice." She could just picture the blood vessels on his forehead bursting.

"What the hell! Katelyn Elizabeth...are you fucking kidding me? Great. Just great." Kate cringed when she heard her full name. She could count the number of times he'd used it on one hand, and it was never a good sign.

"Dean, I'm so sorry…," Kate tried to make things better as tears began to fill her eyes. She had screwed up, she knew it. But she was only met with silence.

"So Dean, do you think you can come in?" Mr. Jones asked.

"Yes, I'm on my way right now. I'll be there shortly," Dean said as he and Mr. Jones hung up.

"Just wait here. I will bring your brother in when he arrives," Mr. Jones said as he exited the room. Kate was left alone with her thoughts. She nervously bounced her leg as she waited for what seemed like forever. Suddenly she heard Mr. Jones and Dean talking outside. She froze. She knew these were her last moments of life.

She took a few deep breaths. "Okay calm down. He will get over the fight…eventually. The important part is he doesn't find out _why_ it went down." She tried to reason with herself. She was torn from her little pep talk as the door opened and both men entered. Kate quickly caught Dean's eye before she turned away. It was full of THAT look. The one of pure anger with a side order of disappointment. Dean sat down beside her as Mr. Jones also took his seat.

"Ok. Well, Kate, do you mind telling us exactly what happened?" Mr. Jones said as all eyes went on her.

"I was reading my book alone. Overheard Paige and her possy talking about me. Got up and went over to them. They continued to be bitches and that's when I punched her," Kate responded as she continued to stare at her hands in her lap.

"And what exactly did Paige and the girls say that made you want to punch her?" Mr. Jones demanded.

"You know, just mean stuff. They're rude. Ask anyone. She deserved it." Kate sat back in her chair and crossed her arms, getting defensive. She just wanted to scream out that _she_ wasn't the bad guy here, it was that_ other_ girl.

"Mr. Jones asked you a specific question and I don't believe you answered," Dean chimed in for the first time and Kate was taken off guard. She felt Dean's words slice through her.

Kate knew she was already in this far, so there was no turning back now. "I told you. Mean things."

"Unfortunately Paige and the other girls aren't talking either, so we don't know what was exchanged between them. Are you sure you don't care you elaborate?" Mr. Jones pried more.

"No thank you." Dean felt his blood pressure rising. He certainly had not raised her to be so disrespectful with authority figures, well with the ones that weren't involved with a case. Kate tuned out as Mr. Jones went into a long speech about their "no tolerance for fighting" policy that didn't seem to interest her. She looked over at Dean when she heard his voice again.

"I understand. I do not take fighting lightly either. I can personally assure you that this—or any other issue—will never happen again. And Katelyn will accept whatever punishment the school gives." Kate felt herself give an audible sigh at his statement, it was very ironic for her because just last week Dean was practicing fighting and shooting with her. Her life was just messed up.

Kate zoned out again when the principal thought it was necessary to go over the school policy _again_. She caught the end of his speech and heard "3 day suspension." Shortly later Dean, Mr. Jones, and Kate all signed the necessary paperwork. She then felt a tight grip on her arm as she was yanked up. They all exchanged polite farewells as Dean and Kate left.

While they were walking down the hall towards the exit, Dean finally broke the silence. "Tell me what this Paige girl said. I know you know not to fight, which leads me to believe she provoked you. So spill now or I'll double your punishment." Kate kept her gaze straight ahead, not wanting to make eye contact with him because she knew that would make her crack. She didn't respond. "Okay then. You made your choice." She felt like her death sentence had just been given.

They both got into the Impala and Dean started it up. The radio immediately clicked on, but he turned it off. The only noise heard the entire ride home was the sound of the Impala's engine. Kate wanted to beg him to just yell at her and get this show on the road. The silence was literally eating her. And a silent Dean was never good.

Once they got back to the hotel, Kate sat down on the couch. Living in a hotel really left for a limited amount of options for hiding spots. Dean followed in behind her and made his way to the fridge. He opened it, grabbed a beer, and slammed it shut, causing Kate to slightly jump in her seat. He sat down at the small table beside the couch and cracked open his beer. The Dean Winchester Way was to make people suffer and he knew Kate would suffer more in silence. 15 minutes passed and Kate pulled out her cell phone, trying to do it quietly and without Dean seeing. She needed advice quick and Sam was the only one who knew how to defuse the Dean Winchester Silence Time Bomb.

Dean heard the familiar clicking sound of a cell phone keyboard. He got up and went over to stand in front of her. He held out his hand and she looked at him. She sighed as she reluctantly handed over her phone before she had a chance to send the text. "No phone. No TV. No computer. Straight up Amish until I tell you otherwise." He paused. "Oh and you know what? The Amish don't drive, so I guess you can forget about your driving test next week. Next time you should think about it before you lie to me."

"But I didn't lie to you!" Kate threw up in hands in exasperation, feeling the need to defend herself on this one.

"You aren't telling me everything that happened. Same thing as lying to me." Dean searched her face for any sign that she was willing to come clean. When her facial expression didn't change, he turned away and went back over to the table to finish sipping on his beer. Kate pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them and laid her head between them. She hated keeping things from Dean. And she hated him being mad at her even more, but him being mad was better than him feeling responsible and guilty for Kate being made fun of over their lack of money. She just couldn't put that on him after all he'd done for her. _"What do they call it? Oh yeah. I'm 'taking one for the team',"_ she thought as she closed her eyes, wishing she could just zap herself to another town right now.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everyone! I know I have already thanked you all personally, but I wanted to say thank you again for all the encouraging reviews! I really do like writing these chapters and if there are still people out there who enjoy reading them, then I'll keep them coming for you guys! If you have any suggestions of things you want to see happen in future chapters, please let me know. I love hearing your ideas.**

**So this chapter contains some fluff! Yay...I wanted to change things up from the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy! Don't forget to review and make my day :)**

**Special thanks to ispiltthemilk for giving me the idea for this chapter without even knowing it. Let's all thank her by jumping over to her page and reading her rockin' sisfic! I promise you'll love it. Scouts honor.**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 3.**

Dean-19

Sam-15

Katie-10

"Sam, pick a color," Katie said. Sam sat down his pencil and looked over at his sister sitting across from him at the table in the school cafeteria. They had been waiting here for about 30 minutes now and Sam didn't like to waste time so he had gotten started on his homework, while Katie had decided to make one of those origami fortune tellers.

"I don't want to play." He gave her an annoyed look.

"Pleeaase. Just once!" Katie begged as she placed her thumbs and index fingers into the folded up paper, getting ready to play. She held it up in front of Sam's face. "Pick a color!"

Sam gently pushed her hands away from his face so he could look at what was written on each of the 4 flaps. _Blue…red…gren…_ "Hey, you know _green_ is spelled g-r-e-_e_-n…with 2 e's, right?" he asked gently without trying to make her feel bad.

Kate quickly pulled her arms back and looked down at her paper, suddenly embarrassed. "Oh yeah, I... I messed up...uh...but come on, let's play," she said trying to take the focus off of her writing and back to the game.

"Fine…blue," Sam replied.

"B-l-u-e," Katie spelled as she moved her fingers back and forth, making the flaps change. "Okay, now pick a number," she said as looked up at Sam.

"Uh…six, I guess."

"One, two, three, four, five, six," she counted moving the paper back and forth with each number. "Which number now?"

"Four." Sam was hoping this game was about to end. He really wanted to get back to his homework; it was over his favorite subject, government.

Katie slowly lifted up the flap labeled '4', making sure that Sam could not see the writing. She didn't want him to see any more spelling mistakes that she was sure she had made. "Your fortune is...you will have 20 babies!" She burst into a giggling fit. "You _should_ have picked 8, Sammy! Then it says you would win a billion dollars!"

"Well guess I missed out then, didn't I?" Sam joked, smiling at how silly this all was. "Okay, now I gotta get back to my homework."

Katie didn't seem to hear the last part as she sat her origami fortune teller down on the table. "Why do you think it's taking Dean so long?" She glanced out into the hallway where parents occasionally were passing by. Today was parent-teacher conferences in the elementary school and Dean had come in place of John, who was away on a hunt. The teacher had been very persistent that someone from Katie's family needed to come in, so Dean finally relented and went.

"Maybe Mrs. Jackson is telling Dean how bad you are," Sam said smiling.

"I'm not bad. _Maybe_ she's telling him how good I am," Katie countered.

"You wish," Sam finished as he picked back up his pencil again and started in on his homework. Katie stared down at her game and played another round quietly to herself as she waited.

"Let's get out of here, little people!" Dean said as he appeared in the doorway of the cafeteria.

"Dean, you're going to have to think of a new nickname cuz I'm going to be taller than you someday!" Sam said as he shoved his homework in his backpack.

"In your dreams, Sammy. You'll never beat me. I'm the oldest." Dean smirked.

Katie grabbed her backpack and walked over to Dean. "Maybe I'll be taller than _both_ of you!"

"Yeah right, only if you work for the circus and walk around on stilts all day," Dean replied as he messed up her hair. Katie crossed her arms defeated. She didn't fully understand what Dean was talking about but she assumed he was making fun of her when he mentioned 'working for the circus'. She was suddenly distracted from her pouting when she noticed he was holding something in his hand.

"What's in the bag?" she said pointing to the gray plastic bag he was carrying.

"Oh, just some cool stuff your teacher wanted you to have," Dean said as he instinctively pulled the bag our of her reach.

"Really?!" Katie was excited. Teachers never gave her anything fun. "Let me see!"

"Wait till we get home," Dean responded as Sam joined up with them at the door. The 2 brothers exchanged glances. Sam knew there was something Dean wasn't mentioning, and his concerned glance back confirmed it.

They started walking down the hallway towards the exit. "Dean, pick a color!" Katie said as she help up her game for him to see.

"Again? Don't you ever get tired of that game?" Dean complained. Katie always found some new game or obsession and would play it constantly for a few weeks and then it would fade out. It was always the same cycle. He couldn't wait for her to pass through this one, but it hadn't been the worst phase for her. He cringed as he remembered her _'wheels on the impala go round and round'_ phase.

"No! It's lots of fun! Ask Sammy." Katie looked up at Sam expectantly but was only met with a shrug of his shoulders. Dean eventually gave in and played her silly game not one, not two, but three times on the drive home. According to his fortunes, Dean would get attacked by a banana-eating monkey, grow purple hair, and win a billion dollars (Sam helped him out on that one). Once they were back and inside the motel room, Dean went over and sat down on the couch.

"Hey, Katie, come here so I can show you what I got," he said as he held up the plastic bag for her to see. She made her way over and sat down beside him, anxiously waiting to see what great things her teacher had sent home. "Mrs. Jackson knows how much you like to play games, so she gave me these cards to play with." Dean pulled out a handful of flashcards.

Katie wasn't amused. She furrowed her eyebrows as she grabbed the cards and examined them. "These all have _words_ on them. This game doesn't sound very fun."

"Yeah, well it is. We can play it together. Heck, I'll even time you to see how fast you can say them if you want." Dean was trying to stay positive about it, hoping that she would jump on board with it.

"Okay, but I'm going to beat you!" She was suddenly excited to play.

Dean smiled, knowing he had won her over again. He was happy he wasn't going to have to force her to practice the sight words. Actually, her teacher had sent him home with an entire packet of words and very specific instructions. He had to practice with her at least once a day because the teacher was very concerned. Katie was an entire grade level behind in reading. When the teacher told him that, Dean had never been so taken off guard before. He was supposed to know _everything_ about his younger siblings, but somehow this had just slipped through the cracks. Sam had practically taught himself to read and was always independent and never asked for help, so Dean hadn't bothered him or even thought to check and see if he was reading correctly. And he had just assumed the same when it came to Katie. He didn't even think about how moving around and changing schools so often might affect her most fundamental learning. He wished now that he had paid more attention before, instead of assuming they were both the same.

"See, I told you Sammy! She told Dean how good I am," Katie bragged as she turned around to Sam who was sitting on the bed pretending to do homework. He had been listening to the conversation the entire time and he could read between the lines and tell what had really been said at that conference. He couldn't believe he hadn't picked up on it either.

Sam got up and went over to the couch. "What do you say we practice those words now?" he asked as he picked up the flashcards off the coffee table. Dean gave Sam a slight smile thanking him for helping. "It's Katie against Dean…Ready?" Sam said as he sat down on the coffee table. They both nodded and Sam began to hold the words up in front of them. Dean purposely got many words wrong or would wait for Katie to answer first. After the first round, Sam and Dean were shocked and realized just how much they needed to keep working with her. In the end, Dean won by just a few words, but Katie was excited for a rematch.

They played a few more times before Dean said they needed to quit so they could eat dinner. Later that night, Katie changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed and waited for Dean to come over and tuck her in like he always did. But instead Dean sat down beside her with his back up against the backboard of the bed. "I'm thinking that you owe me," he said with his arms crossed and a straight face.

Katie sat up and stared at him confused. "For what?"

"Well, for all those times I read you bedtime stories when you were little. I think it's time you paid me back and started reading _me_ a bedtime story," he said as he held out a paper book. What Katie didn't know was the teacher had also sent Dean home with a plethora of books for Katie to practice with. He knew that Katie wouldn't want to read them if she realized it was essentially 'homework' from the teacher, so he had to think up another way to get her to _want_ to read.

Katie reached out and grabbed the book as a smile spilled across her face. She felt so special right now because Dean actually needed _her_ for a change. He never asked her for any favors. "Okay!" she replied joyfully as she scooted over closer to him, so he would be able to see the pictures. Dean gently wrapped his arm around her as she opened up to the first page.

Sam put his glass of water down on the kitchen table and walked over towards the bed where his sibling were sitting. "Hey now…Dean's not the only one who read to you. You definitely owe me too," Sam said as he motioned for Katie and Dean to scoot over so he could sit down on the other side of her. Katie swelled up with happiness. It wasn't every day that not one but _both_ of her brothers paid so much attention to her and were being so nice. Sam knew how important this was for her and she needed both of their support. She smiled at both Sam and Dean before she returned her gaze to the book in front of her. She slowly started to read, fluently knowing some words and stumbling over and sounding out the rest.

Deep down both Sam and Dean knew that they had to make this a priority and part of their new routine. So from that night on, one of them, and occasionally both, would sit down with her before bed and read through one of the books. They weren't going to let her fall any further behind. Not on their watch.


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you all once again for the amazing reviews and for adding this to your story alerts! I love cranking out these chapters for you guys :)**

**Okay, so this chapter will be a spoiler for anyone who hasn't seen Season 3's ****_A Very Supernatural Christmas_****. I have been toying around with the idea of maybe starting a series story with my character Kate in it. I wanted to get a feel for what it would be like to work with an actual episode, so I took the flashback from it and molded it around a little bit to fit Katie in. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated for this chapter. I'd love to know what you think about her being thrown into an episode type scenario. **

**Shout out to ispiltthemilk for encouraging me to try an episode-type chapter and for all of her help! Show her some love too by checking out her sisfic!**

**I hope you all enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 3.**

Dean-12

Sam-8

Katie-4

It was Christmas Eve and the three Winchester sibling we holed up in a broken down, crap hotel in Nebraska. Katie was sitting a little closer to the TV than she should have, but she was mesmerized by the Christmas movie that was on. Dean didn't bother to make her move away because, for once, she was just sitting quietly and not pestering him. If there was anyone in this world that could truly appreciate a working television, it was Dean. A working TV was an instant babysitter for Katie and kept her from annoying him constantly.

Dean went over and sat on the couch beside Sam. "What are you wrapping?" he asked as he motioned towards the gift Sam was wrapping in old newspaper.

"It's for dad," Sam replied, not wanting to share more details.

"What'd ya do, steal it?" Dean asked jokingly. The kid freaking felt guilty using the last of the milk, so Dean knew that Sam would be falling over struggling from an internal dilemma if he had actually stolen it.

"No!" Sam was offended. "Uncle Bobby gave it to me to give to Dad. Said it was real special."

"What is it?" Dean was growing curious now.

"A bat mobile," Sam retorted sarcastically.

"Hilarious," Dean said flatly as he turned his attention to a car magazine that his dad had left lying around. He picked it up and began to check out the latest cars.

"De! Look its rundeers!" Katie exclaimed as she pointed to the TV screen; she was sitting so close that her hand smacked the screen.

Dean drew his eyes up from his magazine to look at his sister. "Rundeers?" he questioned.

"Yeah, its Santa's deers that run in the sky," Katie explained as she turned back to look at the TV. "It's Santa!" she squealed in excitement to no one in particular.

"Yup, that's him," Dean replied without enthusiasm.

"He's gonna be here, right?" Sam asked as looked over at Dean expectantly. They both knew they weren't talking about Santa anymore. They were talking about their dad.

"Yeah, he'll be here. He's knows it's Christmas." Dean wasn't only trying to convince Sam that their dad was coming; he was trying to convince himself too.

"Where is he anyway?" Sam asked innocently. He always had this feeling that Dean and his dad were keeping something from him.

"On business selling stuff to people. You know that," Dean replied, inwardly praying Sam would just accept his response and drop it.

"But what _kind_ of stuff?" Sam pried.

"Stuff!" Annoyance was clear in Dean's voice. Katie turned around when she heard Dean raise his voice to see what was going on. Dean quickly changed his expression and gave her a fake smile before she turned around towards the TV again. Dean gave Sam a clear look telling him to knock it off.

"Nobody ever tells me anything!" Sam complained. He paused before continuing, "Why do we move around so much?" He knew he had to be persistent if he wanted actual answers for a change.

"Cuz everywhere we go, nobody can stand to be around you," Dean retorted and in an attempt to end the conversation, he got up and went over to the bed and after clearing off all the trash, laid down and opened up his magazine again.

Sam got up and went to sit on the adjacent bed. "I'm old enough, Dean. You can tell me the truth."

"You don't want to know the truth. Trust me," Dean responded sincerely.

Katie turned around and realized that both of her brothers were no longer nearby. She grew curious and wandered over towards them sitting on the beds as Sam began to say, "Is that why we never talk about…Mom?" Neither of them had noticed that Katie was now standing in between the beds and had caught the last word of his question.

Katie's eyes grew wide and hopeful. "Is Mommy coming to Christmas this year?" Katie asked. She was still too young to fully grasp what death was.

Dean threw Sam a severely pissed off glare. "Look what you started," he spat in a low, angry voice at his brother. He turned his attention to Katie. "No, Mom's _not_ coming. You know that!" Dean said a little harsher than he had intended. He suddenly felt like the walls were closing in on him and he needed to get out of that room. So he made his way towards the door with Sam trailing behind.

Sam grabbed on to Dean arm, causing him to turn around and face him. Dean's eyes narrowed. "I told you not to ever talk about her. EVER!" He shook his arm out of Sam's grasp and went to open the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Sam asked concerned.

"Out," Dean replied. Katie and Sam slightly jumped as the door slamming resonated through the motel room. Sam's shoulders fell in defeat as he turned around and saw his sister with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, come on," he gently said as he walked over and sat down on the bed. She crawled up beside him and snuggled in close. She didn't like it when Dean got upset.

"'M sorry. I want Mommy at Christmas just like da movie," Katie explained as she pointed to the TV that was coincidentally showing a scene of a family sitting down to eat a nice, Christmas meal. Sam sighed and tried to explain the best he could as to why their mom wasn't coming to Christmas. After Katie said she understood, she made her way back over to the TV, wanting to finish watching Santa. Sam decided it was the perfect opportunity to get into John's duffle that he had left behind and find the journal he'd always seen his dad reading late at night. As he laid face down on the bed with his elbows propping his head up, he began to read it cover to cover.

Once Sam had finished reading, his mind was going in a million different directions. He wanted Dean to hurry and get back so he could have answers. So to distract himself from it all in the meantime, he grabbed one of his comic books and went to sit on the floor beside Katie. He started reading it while she looked at the pictures. Suddenly the door flew open and a burst of cold air entered the room as Dean came in with a paper bag in his hands.

"Thought you went out," Sam stated nonchalantly as he looked up.

"Yeah, to get your ass some food," Dean replied as he tossed a hamburger and a bag of chips at him and handed some fries and chicken nuggets to Katie.

"Thanks Dean!" she said as she sat up and began to open her food as he made his way towards the bed.

"Stay here and you keep looking at Superman while I talk to Dean," Sam ordered. Even though he knew she was going to get her greasy fingers all over it, he had to talk to Dean _now_. Katie nodded her head as she took another bite of her food.

Sam walked over to the bed Dean was sitting on and lifted up the pillow. "I know why you keep a gun under your pillow," he said as he motioned for Dean to look.

"No you don't. Stay outta my stuff," Dean replied, shoving the pillow back down and out of Sam's hands.

"And I know why we lay salt down everywhere we go. And why Dad makes you practice Latin." Sam crossed his arms.

"Shut up," Dean said quietly; he didn't want Katie to come over and hear the conversation he knew they were about to have. Sam quickly turned around and grabbed John's journal from underneath his bed and tossed it beside Dean.

"You can't touch that! It's Dad's! He's gonna kick your ass for reading that," Dean said as he stood up and tried to push past Sam, but he blocked his path.

"Are monsters real?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Dean couldn't look Sam in the eye. "No way. You're crazy."

"Dean, I know the truth. Just tell me," Sam pleaded as he gave Dean a light shove backwards.

Dean looked at Sam and then looked over his shoulder to see Katie still sitting on the floor eating and looking at the comic book. "Not now. Once she's asleep, I'll tell you everything. But I swear, if you ever tell Dad I told you, I will _end_ you."

Sam smiled, finally realizing he would know the whole story later tonight. "Promise." He let Dean pass and both of them went over and sat on the couch to finish their dinner.

After finishing their meal, Dean helped Katie take a bath and was now tucking her into bed. "Does Santa know where we live? Cuz we gots a new house now," she said looking around at the room. Dean offered a little smile. Sam was going to be finding out shortly that there's no such thing as Santa and Dean couldn't bear to tell his little sister too.

"Yeah, he'll find you. But only if you go to sleep," Dean responded as he pulled the covers up to her chin.

"'Kay. Night, De." She turned over towards the wall and closed her eyes. He waited there and once he saw that her breathing had evened out, he knew she was fast asleep. He went over to the couch and sat down beside Sam and reluctantly began to shed light on all the questions he'd had for so long.

After he answered everything truthfully, he noticed how Sam's face began to fall. "You okay?" He knew it was a stupid question. _He_ sure wasn't okay after he had found out that monsters were real, so why would Sam be?

"Yeah. I just wanna go to sleep, okay?" Sam said as he got up and made his way over to the bed and got under the covers beside Katie. His quiet crying tore through Dean. He ran his hand over his face, trying to think of what to do.

"I'll make it all better. You'll see," he said to no one in particular as he went over and quietly slipped out of the room. He was on a new mission now.

* * *

Dean later returned and placed two nicely wrapped presents under the tree. He slowly walked over to the bed where his siblings were sleeping and shook them both. "Sammy! Katie! Wake up!" The both turned towards him, squinting as they opened their eyes. "Dad—uh…." Dean caught Katie's eye. "Um...Dad _and _Santa were here! Look what they brought," he said as he motioned towards the little Christmas tree decorated with just a few lights and the 2 presents sitting underneath.

Katie finished rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes and jumped out of bed with a jolt of energy as she hurridly made her way over to the tree. "Wow!" she exclaimed as she took turns shaking each of the presents.

"Dad was here?" Sam asked as he got out of bed too. Dean nodded his head. "But why didn't he wake us up?" Doubt was clear in Sam's voice.

"He tried to, but you guys were dead as rocks. Look, we made a killing this year," Dean finished as he went over and sat down on the couch.

"Both for me?" Katie asked innocently with her big, puppy dog eyes.

"No, Katie…one's for Sam," he lightly scolded. He looked back over at the beds. "Come on!" Dean yelled as he motioned for Sam to join them.

"It's from Santa, Sammy. _Santa_!" Katie said as she excitingly handed Sam the larger of the two presents because she had liked the sound the smaller one made when she shook it. "Me first!" Katie had never been one for patience. Dean gave her a smile, telling her to go ahead.

Katie opened the package as fast as her small hands could rip off the tape and paper. "OoOOhhhHH! It's pretty! And sparkly!" She shook the baton around in the air so the shiny strings hanging off the ends went flying around and the little beads inside made a noise. "I like Santa!" she declared.

Dean smiled as he turned towards Sam. "Now you go, Sammy." With her baton still in hand, Katie walked up closer to the couch because she wanted to be able to see what Sam got.

Sam rarely ever got presents, so he was thrilled to open it, but once he realized what it was, a confused look spilled across his face. "Sapphire Barbie?"

"He must think you're a girl, _Samantha_," Dean joked as he lightheartedly punched him in the arm, but he inwardly felt guilty that he hadn't made sure one was a boy's gift.

"Wow!" Katie was mesmerized. She looked down at her baton and then back at the Barbie. "Sammy, you're SUPER lucky!" She'd never had a doll before and it looked way better than her baton.

"Here, you can have it," Sam said as he pushed the box towards her. Katie's eyes immediately lit up.

She gave Sam a hug, and before grabbing the box, she said, "I gots you something too." She scurried off and snatched something off of the table. "Here." She handed each of her brothers a very small 'gift' wrapped in old candy wrappers. They exchanged a funny glance before they unwrapped it to find a stick of gum.

"Where did you get these?" Dean chuckled.

"I found dem one day over there!" She pointed to the kitchen. That suddenly put in question just how edible the gum actually was.

"Well it's great. Thanks," Sam said smiling as he tousled her hair. Katie burst into a huge grin, proud that they had liked her gift.

"Yeah, thanks," Dean paused. "How about I open up your doll?" he asked as he sat the gum down and started opening the box. Katie nodded her head and anxiously clapped her hands together and bounced around as she waited for him to open it.

Dean was finally able to undo all the twisty ties and Katie now sat on the floor thrilled to be playing with her new toy. Sam slouched back on the couch and turned to Dean. "I know Dad never showed...So where'd you get this stuff?"

Dean looked at him and was about to lie, but he knew there was no point. It was pretty obvious. "Nice house up the block. But I swear I didn't know they were both chick presents."

"Yeah, yeah…," Sam trailed off as he got up and grabbed something from underneath his pillow. He came back and handed Dean the present he had been wrapping earlier. "Here, I want you to have it."

"No, that's for Dad," Dean said as he gently pushed it away.

"Dad lied to me. And you told me the truth…about everything. I want you to have it," Sam explained. Dean raised his eyebrows, silently asking if he was positive. "Yeah, I'm sure." Dean eagerly unwrapped the gift and held up the gold amulet necklace.

"Wow. Thank you, Sam…I…I love it," he replied as he slipped it on over his head. It may have been a little big, but Dean knew he would grow into it because he never planned on taking it off.

"It's the bestest Christmas ever!" Katie announced as she stood up and twirled around with her new Barbie. Dean just sat back on the couch and smiled. Katie was right, this had turned out to be a very memorable Christmas for everyone, in more ways than one.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hi everyone! ****Thank you for all the reviews and adding my story to your alerts! You all put some extra pep in my step. **Sorry for the delay with this chapter. Homework and projects are really starting to pick up and I haven't had much free time this week. Hopefully I can get another out by Monday! Reviews are a great encouragement :) 

**Also, if you guys have any requests for future chapters, I'd love to hear them!  
****This chapter was really fun to write! I hope you all enjoy! Drop me a review and let me know what you think!**

******Disclaimer: See Chapter 3**

Dean-24

Kate-15

Kate opened the door and walked outside with Dean following right behind. She threw both of her arms up in the air and screamed, "Ohio is the best!"

A guy nearby in the parking lot overheard her and yelled back, "Damn straight!" Kate turned to him and gave him a thumbs up.

Dean came up behind her and started pushing her along towards the car. "Will you please stop?" He begged in a low, harsh voice because he was becoming embarrassed by her outbursts.

"I don't even care who hears me! I love you, O-hi-ooooo!" She skipped the rest of the way over to the Impala and sat down in the driver's seat, one of the many benefits of Dean never locking the car. Dean bent down and gave her his infamous 'what the hell are you doing' look. "Dean, you see this?" She held up a small, plastic card right in his face. Dean took a step back as he pushed it out of his face.

"Yeah, it's a driver's permit. Meaning someone has to _permit_ you to drive. And guess what? I'm not letting you drive." Dean protectively put his hand on the hood of the car.

"But I passed the test with flying colors!" Kate said as she crossed her arms.

"Written test. There was no actual driving involved." He motioned for her to scoot over to the passenger's seat. She let out an audible grunt and reluctantly moved over, knowing Dean wasn't changing his mind.

"But the law says I have to eventually practice!" Kate complained.

"I'll let you know when eventually is here." Dean started up the car and pulled out of the lot and onto the road.

"You taught _Sam_ how to drive right away. It's not fair," she said as she turned her gaze out the window. She didn't really mean to throw that in Dean's face, but he had really been a buzz kill for her right now.

"If you quit your bitching, we can start this weekend." Dean knew he was going to regret this.

"Really?" Kate turned to him. Dean took a deep breath.

"Yeah, but we do it my way. Got it?" He quickly looked over at her, showing he was serious.

"Totally!" She smiled as she looked down at her driver's permit, proud that her picture turned out halfway decent. She couldn't wait to drive!

* * *

The Next Day...

"You ready?" Dean asked as he held up the car keys. Kate's face instantly lit up. She had tried not to bug Dean about it all day, not wanting to piss him off. Thankfully he stuck to his word and she was _finally_ going to learn to drive, in the Impala no less! She walked over and went to grab the keys from him, but Dean quickly pulled them away. "Not just yet." He turned around and walked outside to the car. A baffled Kate followed behind him. Dean got in the passenger's seat and took a moment to adjust to his new surroundings. He didn't like the view from this side of the car. It just wasn't right. He grunted in annoyance as Kate slid into the driver's seat, her face still plastered with a smile.

"Let's get this show on the road," she joked as she looked at Dean.

"First things first. Rule 1: This ain't no hot wheels car. She's not here for you to play with. So do her no harm. Rule 2: You treat her with respect and she'll give it back to you," he began. Kate rolled her eyes. This wasn't the first time she'd heard this speech. "And Rule 3: She doesn't like attitude so check it at the door." Dean glared at Kate out of the corner of his eye as he affectionately patted the dashboard.

"Got it. No play. All respect. Zero attitude." She held out her hand for the keys. Dean stared her like she had just tried to offer him some fruit.

"You think I'm going to hand over the keys on the first day? You're even stupider than you look sometimes. No, we are doing this my way." Dean gently placed the keys in his coat pocket. Kate opened her mouth to argue, but instantly closed it, realizing it was best not to argue with the boss.

"Oh wise one, please teach me your ways, so I may one day become such a great, upstanding, law-abiding, driving citizen like you," Katie said as she bowed her head down at him, laughing, which earned her a smack on the back of her head from Dean.

She rubbed her head as he began to speak. "Okay, I want you to tell me what every knob and button and lever does." He gestured towards the dashboard and steering wheel.

Kate began, "Well, this pedal is for 'speed up, we're late'," she motioned toward the gas pedal. "And this one is the 'oh crap, a cop' pedal." She pointed to the brake. Dean gave her another one of his infamous 'knock it off' looks. Kate took a deep breath and began again. She went over what every pedal and lever did. Gas, brake, windshield wipers, turn signals…the whole works. Finally she _thought_ she had covered everything.

"And these?" Dean nodded towards the radio.

"Well this is the 'on' button and this one cranks the volume up and—," Kate was cut off.

"No. _These_ buttons mean nothing to you. Off limits. I don't need you Mmm-bopping your way down the road and right into a tree." Kate let a little laugh escape, but instantly muffled it with a fake cough when Dean glared at her. He was taking all this way too far. They had almost spent an hour going over all of this stuff and she was getting perturbed. Kate just nodded her head, waiting for him to continue. Dean checked his watch. "Okay, well that's enough learning for today." He started to open the door.

"What?! Dean, come on!" Kate complained as she grabbed on to his arm so he couldn't get out.

"Hey, you said you were okay with doing this _my_ way. I'm not going to hand over my baby to a stranger on the first day. Gotta earn _our _trust," Dean explained as he glanced around the car, emphasizing just what he meant by 'our'.

First, Kate couldn't believe she had went over all this stuff to not even get to drive today. And second, she was becoming severely concerned about Dean's mental health. He just referred to himself and the car as an entity together. She let go of his arm and went to smack her hands down on the steering wheel in frustration, but stopped just inches from making contact, realizing Dean would use that against her. She got out of the car, making sure to gingerly shut the door and then stomped off into the hotel room like a 5 year old throwing a tantrum.

* * *

The next day of 'driving lessons' consisted of Kate reviewing everything again and then being quizzed by Dean.

"What do you do if your cell phone rings?" Dean questioned as he looked at her from the passenger's seat where he was sitting.

"Pull over safely and _then _answer it," she answered, knowing what he wanted to hear. She knew all of the correct answers because they were exactly the _opposite_ of what Dean would do in any given situation.

"Good. What do you do when you have to pull the car over?" he quizzed.

"Put the flashers on." She smiled at herself, proud she had thought of the answer. She had never seen the Impala with the flashers on, but she assumed they had to be there somewhere.

"Okay. Now what do you do if you are sliding on some ice?" Dean asked as he raised his eyebrows.

Kate paused and she tried to think of an answer. "Turn the wheel in the other direction to steer it back to normal." She didn't have much confidence in her answer.

Dean shook his head. "No! You turn the wheel in the direction you are sliding. Otherwise you over-correct and you end up in a ditch and then you'll have broken just about every rule we've went over."

She looked at Dean confused. "Dean, how do you even _know_ that? I'm not even sure _you've_ really ever driven on an ice-covered road." She paused as her eyes looked up in thought about what she said. "Actually, come to think of it. How have we managed to bypass all of the snow and ice? I mean we drive around the Midwest all the time. Kinda snow central."

Dean paused also as he thought about her question. Not able to come up with a reasonable answer, he just shrugged his shoulder and moved on to the next question. After about 10 more, he called it a day and Kate once again stomped her way back into the hotel. She had high hopes for this lesson, only to be let down again.

* * *

On day three, they both got into the car and Dean reluctantly handed the keys over to her. Kate squealed in excitement as she put them into the ignition and started the car. She put her foot on the brake and went to put the car into reverse, but Dean reached over and grabbed her hand before she could. "What are you doing?!" Concern clear in his voice.

"I was just putting it into reverse, Dean. Not like I can go forward!" She gestured toward the building in front of them.

"Yeah, well I never said to do any of that. You're not moving the car today. I just want you to get a feel for the purr of the engine," Dean explained as he moved his hand away from her.

"I grew up in this freaking car! I think I know what the engine sounds like," Kate said, annoyed. She tried to have patience with him, but it was quickly wearing thin.

"Well you didn't grow up in the _driver's_ seat. So it sounds and feels different there." Dean held up his hand as if to quiet her so they could both listen to the sounds. Kate threw herself back in the seat and crossed her arms. She knew Dean was insane about his car, but she never knew he was certifiably insane. She mentally kicked herself for not waiting for her dad to get back and have him teach her. She shook her head. No, John would probably be much worse. Sure Dean took things at snails pace, but at least he wasn't yelling at her as she was sure John would.

Dean noticed how frustrated Kate got with him. He sighed. This wasn't easy. He wasn't ready for her to drive his car, especially because there was no emergency passenger break installed for his safety. But she had been patient with him for 3 days now, putting up with his nonsense with little complaint. "Fine. Tomorrow you can drive." Her eyes instantly lit up. "But just in the parking lot, okay?" He wanted to make sure he clarified. There would be no driving on the road until she was well _over_prepared.

Kate excitedly shook her head as she turned off the engine. She handed Dean the keys as she leaned over and gave him a hug. "Thanks!" she said.

Dean half hugged her back before he gently pushed her away. "Okay. Rule 4? No chick flick moments in the car." He shook his shoulders and arms, as if trying to get rid of some imaginary dirt and got out of the car. Kate watched and quietly laughed at her brother. Sure, he was 7 gallons of crazy, but she wouldn't trade him for anyone else.

**A/N: The part about the snow was something ispiltthemilk and I have noticed in spn...8 seasons and we have never actually seen Dean drive in the snow, even though they are supposedly driving all over the snowiest parts of America. So I had to poke some fun at that :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys! Thank you for reviewing and adding my story to your favorites and alerts. You are all amazing and motivated me to crank this chapter out :) Chapter 20! I can't believe it!**

**Special thanks to ispiltthemilk for her help and encouragement with this chapter! We can all thank her by checking out her outstanding sisfic! You can find it under my favorite story tab in my profile.**

**This story was inspired by something I read on the supernaturalwiki website about Dean. I thought it would make for a very interesting chapter, whether it be true or not.  
Don't forget to send me any requests you have for future chapters and please leave me a review and let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 3.**

**Note: This chapter takes place sometime during Season 1.**

Dean-26

Sam-22

Kate-18

The motel door creaked as Sam opened it. Tired of his snail's pace, an impatient Kate shoved past him to get inside faster. Taking her cue, Dean smirked as he also pushed his way through, leaving an annoyed Sam to shut the door. Kate took the five steps required to reach the foot of the bed and threw herself on it face up, leaving her feet dangling off the edge. "Another one bites the dust," she announced as she basked in a moment of relaxation as she closed her eyes and rested her hands behind her head.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean mumbled as he threw his jacket and car keys on the table. He grabbed his duffle and headed towards the bathroom, only to be stopped by Sam who was already standing in the door. Dean looked back at the motel door and then to Sam again, baffled as to how he had managed to move so fast. "What, do you have teleporting skills you want to tell us about?"

Sam gave him his infamous 'bitch face' and decided to ignore his comment. "Sorry, man. First come, first serve," Sam said unapologetically. He turned around and started to shut the door, but a loud _thump_ from Dean's hand stopped it from closing.

"Hell no. I'm the one who did most of the grave digging. You and your sidekick over there," he motioned to Kate, "barely did a thing. So. Move. Ass. Now," Dean threatened.

"Hey! It's not my fault _someone_ lost our other shovel. What did you want me to do? Dig with my hands?" Kate defended from her spot over on the bed, not even looking over at them. It felt so good to have her eyes closed. "You should let him go first, Sammy. He _does_ smell more like ass than usual." She scrunched up her nose in complete exaggeration.

"See? 2 against 1. Now move," Dean said before he had a chance to really analyze the insult Kate had actually thrown at him. Sam was caught off guard by Kate siding with Dean, so he wasn't able to defend himself as Dean forcibly pulled him out of the doorway and quickly shut and locked the door. Sam didn't even have a chance to retaliate.

He went and threw his bag beside Kate on the bed, as if to make a point. "Since when are you on Team Dean?"

She still didn't feel a need to open her eyes and look at Sam; she already knew the annoyed off look he was giving her. "I'm only on the most important team. Aka Team Kate. And this girl couldn't handle the stank that was reeking off of him," Kate explained as she motioned to the bathroom door.

Sam walked up to the foot of the bed and stared at his sister with her closed eyes. He felt the sudden urge to take his frustration out on someone. "Brat," he said as he suddenly grabbed both her ankles and in one swift movement pulled her right off the bed. When she landed with a loud _plop,_ a satisfied smile spilled across his face. He made his way over to the small table by the window to wait his turn to shower.

Kate grunted as she slowly pushed herself up off the floor, rubbing her backside. So much for her relaxation. "You've been MIA for 4 years, so let me catch you up on a life lesson. Apparently you smell worse with age."

"I heard that!" Dean yelled from the bathroom right before he turned on the shower. Sam gave Kate an approving smile before she went over to join him.

* * *

After all 3 Winchesters were freshly showered, they piled in the Impala and went down the road to the 24 hour diner they had spotted earlier to get some supper. They were exhausted after this last hunt, but no Winchester could sleep on an empty stomach.

Kate chose a booth close to the door and scooted in. Both Sam and Dean wanted to sit alone on the opposite side, so they raced the last 3 feet to the booth. Dean won as he slid into the seat, throwing Sam a victory smile. Kate looked between both of them. "You guys sure know how to make a gal feel special," she said in a fake southern accent as she batted her eyelashes.

Sam took a seat beside her and sighed in defeat. "You're special alright."

"Yeah, short bus special," Dean joked. Kate stuck out her tongue at him. "And apparently you're also 5." Dean laced his hands together and placed them on top of the menu, not feeling a need to even look at it. He already knew what he wanted and it was basically an unwritten law that every rundown diner had it.

"Pretty sure when I was 5, I couldn't do this." Kate paused and Dean gave her a confused look, not sure what she was referring to.

All of a sudden, the silverware shook as Dean's knee hit the table underneath. Kate crossed her arms and sat back in her seat happily because her shin kick was a success. Sam stifled a laugh as Dean shot them daggers with his eyes and rubbed his knee.

While they were waiting on their food to arrive, Kate was busy ignoring her brothers' annoying conversation. She couldn't be bothered to even figure out the topic, she just knew it was boring. Instead she decided to work on cleaning the graveyard dirt out from underneath her fingernails. "Damnit!" she cursed. She felt their gazes shift to her and she innocently looked up, not having realized she cursed out loud. "What? I broke my freaking nail again." She held up her right hand as if to prove her point.

Dean raised his eyebrows at her in disbelief. "Could you be any more of a girl?"

Kate angrily put her hand back down, suddenly finding it an insult to be called girly. She was far from being the type of girl who got upset over a broken fingernail, but it had been partially torn and when she pulled it off, it took a larger chunk of the nail with it. Even her fingernails never wanted to cooperate with her. "Seriously? I think we all know _you're_ more girl than I am," she retorted. Both boys looked at her like she had just said demons were good. She couldn't have been further from the truth.

"Ok, now _that's_ the dumbest thing you've ever said," Dean responded. Kate met Sam's confused gaze and gave him a half smile, assuring him she had a plan.

"Come on, Dean. Just look at yourself." She paused as they all checked Dean out, trying to find hints of "girlism" on him. "You wear more jewelry than I do!" He instantly grabbed his necklace, ironically with the same hand that he wore a silver ring on. Kate gestured towards his neck, proving her case.

"Well I don't wear it to feel pretty, dipshit. I don't need any help in that department." Dean sported his cocky side grin. Cue the eye rolls from both Sam and Kate.

"Yeah, yea. We all know Sammy here," she landed a loud pat on his back, "gave you that necklace blah-blah, so-special, cry-cry, pass a tissue. But why exactly do you wear a freaking ring anyway?"

Dean suddenly removed his grasp from the necklace and put his hands in his lap, out of their sight. He protectively rubbed his fingers over the ring as he contemplated what to say. "You wouldn't understand," he said in a low, almost inaudible voice.

Not hearing what he had said, Kate continued joking. "I mean, it's not like it's a _purity_ ring."

Sam, who had kept out of it until now, burst out laughing. "Can you imagine? THE Dean Winchester turning down sex?"

Kate shifted in her seat so she was facing Sam and started laughing along with him. In her best 'bimbo' voice she said, "Oh yes. Hi. I'm blond, busty, sexy, _legal_ and ssoooo drunk. Take me to bed and do with me as you please!"

Sam lowered his voice to imitate Dean's. "Golly gee, young lady. I just got too much respect for you. And you see this here ring?" Sam held up his hand and pointed to an imaginary ring on his finger. "I'm saving myself for the right woman. I have _morals_." Kate and Sam high fived each other as they continued chuckling and turned to face Dean. Kate was expecting to be met with his 'haha, you're both little bitches' face. Instead she saw a flare of pure anger in his eyes.

"Come on! You can dish it out, but you can't take it?" Kate reasoned, not understanding what his problem was all of a sudden. Just then the waitress arrived with their food. They instantly paused the conversation and all slapped on smiles and politely received their meals, but once she left they returned to where they had left off.

"How about you both just shut the hell up," Dean threatened. His gaze burned into each one of them. Kate was taken back by how pissed off he appeared.

"Dude, I didn't know you'd get so upset over a freaking joke! It's just a ring," Sam said, as he took a bite of his salad.

"It's not _just_ a ring," Dean said in a low voice that dripped with anger. His siblings looked at him, completely shocked by his tone. "It's mom's wedding band." And with that, he stood up and quickly pulled a few bills out of his wallet. He tossed them down in the center of the table before he made his way out the door.

Sam and Kate watched as he left the diner and then turned to one another, both dumbfounded by what was just revealed. "Did you know?" she asked quietly.

"Had no idea," he responded as he shook his head. They both went back to picking at their meals, eating in silence. Neither really felt up to eating much after what had just happened. Each one was lost in their thoughts. Kate saw Dean's untouched burger and fries sitting across from her and she felt awful. Had she known the real origin of that ring, she never would have joked about it. But it wasn't like Dean ever came out and talked about personal things.

Kate and Sam waited some time before they got up and made their way outside. Dean was leaning up against the side of the car with his hands shoved in his coat pockets. They slowly approached the car, not really sure what to say.

"Dean…," Kate began in a soft voice.

"Stop," Dean commanded as he made his way to the driver's door. Kate walked towards him, but Dean opened up the door, cutting off her path. He quickly got inside and shut the door, signaling an end to their would-be conversation. A defeated Kate glanced over the top of the car to Sam who gave her a sympathetic look. She quietly slipped into the back seat as Dean turned on the car. Not missing a beat, he clicked on the radio and turned it up to that magical volume that is not loud enough to burst your eardrums, but not quiet enough to allow for conversation. Kate threw her head back on the seat and let her shoulders fall. She knew Dean handled emotions differently than anyone else, but she wished she could just apologize and make it better. But all he needed was just a little time to cool off and move on, and she knew that. He wasn't one to ever hold a grudge or outwardly dwell on things. They arrived back at the motel and each went to bed without exchanging a single word.

* * *

The next morning Dean woke up and was feeling like his normal, devious self again. He wanted to make sure his siblings knew that he was over last night and essentially just wanted to move on and pretend it never happened, so he devised a plan with Sam's help.

"Kate! Kate!" Sam yelled as he shook a sleeping Kate. She half opened her eyes to see both of her brothers standing way too close to her. She scrunched up her face and was about to bitch them out, but Dean spoke first.

"Kate! Look, it's raining!" Dean exclaimed. The words barely had time to process through her tired brain when a sudden rush of cold water met her face. She screamed in protest as she instantly sat up. She wiped the water from her eyes and saw her brothers standing there laughing. She spotted the now empty glass in Dean's hand.

She threw off the covers. "You're both so dead!" she announced as she lunged towards them, inwardly knowing that it was already a lost battle against her 2 older, bigger brothers. She didn't care though because it meant that things were finally back to 'normal' with the Winchesters.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys! First off I want to apologize for not updating in ****_forever_****. I've been in the middle of midterms and graduate school brings a whole new level of studying. So please forgive me! Hopefully I can get more chapters out to you all now :)**

**A HUGE thank you goes out to RL13TVD for giving me the idea used in this chapter! I hope you like it!**

**Also, a special shout out to ispiltthemilk for her encouragement in getting this chapter out and helping me when I got stuck. Don't forget to check out her sister fic! You can find it under my 'Favorites" tab.**

**Please don't forget to read and REVIEW! I love hearing your feedback. It's always appreciated :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Kate. Song lyrics mentioned are from "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child.**

Dean-22

Sam-18

Kate-14

Sam checked over both of his shoulders, quickly scanning the parking lot. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he opened the motel room door and slid inside, closing it behind him, all in one swift movement.

Kate froze mid-bite of her donut when she noticed Sam's sudden presence in the room. They made eye contact and exchanged confused looks. "What the heck are _you_ doing here?" Sam accused as he made his was over to sit beside her on the couch.

She finished taking a bit of her donut, slowly chewing it to give her move time to come up with an answer. A slight smile formed in the corner of Sam's mouth; he knew exactly what she was doing. Finally Kate gulped down the last of her donut and held up her arm to look at an imaginary watch on her wrist. She replied innocently, "Oh? Would you look at that, guess it's school time already."

Sam couldn't hold back a chuckle anymore. "That's the best you got? Katie, we walked to school _together_ this morning." Nothing got past this guy.

Kate's eyes shot down towards the floor and she felt her cheeks blush, realizing she had been caught skipping school. She mentally added 'work on being sly and inventing better excuses' to her to do list. Suddenly she drew her gaze back up to Sam. "Yeah, you're right. We did go together. And I know the day didn't fly by already…so based on the scientific skills I don't have, I think its safe to conclude that smarty pants Sam is ditching school too." Her smile now matched his.

"What can I say? Dean being out of town with Dad must bring out my inner bad ass," Sam joked.

Dean had left 2 days ago with John for a hunt in the next state over. Dean had left the Impala there, per John's orders obviously, in case Sam and Kate had some sort of emergency. Dean had made it very clear that the only emergency that he considered an actual emergency was if someone was almost dead or the cops were on their trail. Sam and Kate had nodded and agreed, but deep down Sam was already forming his own plans. He couldn't believe his luck! It was a clear sign from some gods somewhere that Sam was meant to go to this event. If it wasn't for that, he would never have been caught dead skipping school.

"So why'd ya ditch?" Kate asked as she went back to chowing down on her donut, feeling relaxed because there was no way Sam was going to rat her out.

"Well…um..there's this thing I wanted to check out a few towns away. I was gonna take the Impala…," Sam trailed off. He figured the less details, the better.

"Sweet, I'll go with you. My day is pretty flexible anyway." Kate bent down and picked up her tennis shoes from where she had discarded them earlier on the floor. Convinced she was going with Sam, she started to put them on.

Sam thought it was going to be easy to just leave school, get in the Impala, drive there and back before the school day was even over and everyone else wouldn't know a thing. But now Kate was complicating his plan. "You'll probably get bored, so why don't you just hang here and enjoy your day off," Sam tried to persuade her.

"Nah, I'm coming. I know where you're going anyway," Kate said nonchalantly as she finished tying her shoes.

Sam shifted in his seat. "You do?" he questioned, clearly taken off guard.

"Yeah. Stanford, right?" She looked over at him.

"How did you know?" Sam asked, not able to hide the shock in his voice. He let his shoulder fall, knowing there was no way out of this one now. He had told Kate about his acceptance to Stanford last month, but he had never planned on getting her caught up in anything related to it, let alone taking her to the actual college. He didn't want to even think about what his dad or brother would say if they found out.

"I'm a mind reader!" she joked. Sam gave her a disapproving look. "Okay, fine. I saw you looking at the map last night. And I know Stanford is in California. See, that stupid advanced Math class you made me take? Totally helps me put 2 and 2 together." She smirked.

Sam slowly nodded his head. "And you're sure you wanna go? I doubt Admissions Day is buckets of fun," he added.

"Yes, I want to go! And like I said, it's the best offer I've got on the table for today." Kate grabbed her coat and made her way towards the door. "And there's nothing like taking a good old fashioned joy ride in the Impala," she said over her shoulder as she opened the door and went outside. Sam smiled as he grabbed his backpack and keys before locking up and meeting her at the car.

"You have to help me remember _exactly_ how its parked, okay?" Sam begged. They both took a few seconds to memorize the precise location of every wheel. Kate held her hands up by her eyes in the form of a camera, _clicking_ pictures. Sam rolled his eyes as he unlocked the door and they slid inside.

He started up the car and they quickly headed out on the road. Without missing a beat, Kate reached down and turned on the radio and Led Zeppelin blasted through the speakers. Kate's face mushed up in disgust as she quickly ejected the tape, filling the car with silence. "Never thought this would happen," she said as she held up the cassette tape and turned to Sam.

"What?" he asked as he turned onto the interstate.

"Never thought I'd be able to turn off one of his mullet rock tapes without him bitching me out," she joked.

Sam laughed as he replied, "You're right. I was half expecting him to jump out of the backseat and strangle you."

Kate's laugh fell a little as she suddenly became nervous. She discretely turned around to check the backseat. When she realized all was in order, she breathed a sign of relief and turned her attention back to the radio. "So what are you feeling?" She began to flip through the stations.

"Stop…that one!" Sam exclaimed as he motioned with his right hand for her to keep it on that station.

"Red Hot Chili Peppers?" Kate questioned.

"Yeah, can't remember the last time I heard them."

"Me either," Kate replied as she sat back in her seat. "See? Already a more peaceful ride."

"Sure helps when you can agree on music." Sam looked over at Kate and they shared a smile, both remembering what had happened last week…

**Flashback**

Sam, Dean, and Kate were all in the Impala, heading to their new 'home' in California. They had been crammed into this car for 5 hours straight and Kate was about to lose her mind. Not able to handle it anymore, she suddenly threw herself up against the front seat and reached towards the radio in an attempt to eject the cassette tape. Dean didn't even take his eyes off the road as he took a hand off the steering wheel and slapped her arm away. She instantly retreated back, but not without giving Sam a death glare for not helping her.

"Dean, I can't take this music anymore! It's my turn to pick," she complained.

"You've never had a turn to pick, so we sure as hell aren't starting that now. I'm not about to have my baby infested with Hanson and Cabage Garden shit music," Dean replied.

"Dude, it's _Savage_ Garden," Sam corrected.

"Oh, God, not you too," Dean as he titled his head to the side to give Sam a 'Seriously?!' look.

Sam brushed off his comment before continuing, "Come on, Dean. She's right. Can't we just take a break from hair bands and head bangers?"

When Dean didn't respond, Kate piped up again. "This should be considered a form of child abuse, you know…You are brainwashing us with this crap!"

Dean glared back at her through the rearview mirror. "If you consider listening to the _classics_ as the worst part of your childhood, consider yourself lucky."

Kate leaned back and crossed her arms, officially not a fan of this conversation since she was not winning. She began to hum quietly to herself to try and drown out the music, before she burst out in song, _"When no one is around you, say baby I love you, if you ain't running games…Say my name, say my name…"_

"Kate, Kate, Kate, Kate!" Both Dean and Sam said at the same time, cutting her off.

She glared at the back of both of their heads. "It's a song, idiots. I didn't mean to actually say my name!" Dean and Sam exchanged a smile; they both had known that.

**End Flashback**

After passing the 2 hour ride by singing along and goofing around to all the pop songs on the radio, from Blink 182 to N*Sync, must to Sam's dismay, they finally arrived. As they got out of the car, they both did a 360, trying to take it all in. There was a sea of people walking everywhere and a row of tall building close by, which Sam knew was the main campus.

"So this is where you're gonna live?" Kate asked, truly astonished.

"Yeah, I guess so!" Sam couldn't help all the excitement and happiness he was feeling right now. He had seen the campus in pictures, but seeing it in person just made it all so much more real. "Come on, let's go check in." He motioned for her to follow him as he began walking towards the buildings.

Kate stayed close to Sam's side because the amount of people that they were cramming into the small 'check-in' area was crazy. It was finally Sam's turn to register and he approached the 20-something girl working behind the table, who Kate assumed was a student. "Name?" She asked. Kate squinted as she tried to read her nametag, but Sam was blocking her view.

"Sam Winchester," he replied. The girl started to look through a stack of papers before finally pulling out the one she was looking for.

"Okay, Sam, here's your nametag and itinerary. Is there anyone accompanying you today?" she asked.

He turned around just to make sure Kate was still there before answering, "Yes, one person." She handed Sam a blank nametag and a marker for him to fill out. She quickly drew the attention of the next person in line, pressuring Sam to hurry and get out of there.

He turned and gave Kate her nametag as he put his on. She looked down at it and grunted. "Katelyn? Really? You're an ass," she complained. She hated people calling her by her full name. It always reminded her of a really pissed off John or Dean.

"Yeah, well suck it up," he replied as he slapped on his own nametag. Kate examined it closer and saw the college had put _Samuel_ on it. Sam just couldn't suffer alone.

Sam checked the schedule and map, trying to figure out where to go first. They scurried across campus and arrived just in time as the tour was taking off. They jumped in line with the other swarm of people and made their way around campus. Kate couldn't help but notice the look on Sam's face. He was taking in everything around him and hanging on every word the tour guide said about the college. Sam pointed out a few of the buildings he knew his classes would be in to Kate. His voice was filled with so much pride and pure excitement. She felt her heart swell at seeing her brother so happy. This is what he really wanted and she was glad she got to see it with him.

After walking around in the sun for an hour, they were lead into a big, air conditioned room with dim lighting, showing there was about to be a slideshow presentation. They took their seats and Kate nudged Sam. "What's all this about?" she asked.

Sam pulled out the schedule. "It says…Financial Information."

"Wow. Sounds riveting," she replied dryly.

Sam looked at her and laughed. "Since when do you talk like that?"

"Well we're on a college campus. I'm _trying_ to blend in." She smiled. Sam was about to reply, but was cut off as an older man dressed in a suit stepped up on the stage and began talking about everything related to college and money. As he got further into his presentation, more numbers began to flash across the screen. _Housing, food, tuition…_the numbers kept getting bigger. There were too many digits in Kate's opinion. She was positive her family had never even possessed that amount of money in all of their lives. Suddenly, she was worried at how Sam was going to pull this off. She wanted to bring it up to him so badly, but this was _his_ day and he was enjoying it. She wasn't about to put a damper on things. She made a mental note to find a way to ask him about this on the drive home.

When the presentation ended, Sam announced that next up was lunch with some professors from his major. Kate was just excited it was finally lunch time. They stepped into a big, open room and saw food spread out across a few tables at the front of the room and they made their way up there along with others. Kate's face quickly fell as she saw that the 'lunch' was finger sandwiches with cheese and crackers. She picked up the small plate and sighed. Since when did people eat lunch on baby plates? They started through the line and as she reached for another mini-sized sandwich to put on her plate, she felt someone elbow her side.

She looked up at Sam. "What?" she said in a low voice.

"Don't be greedy," he responded, giving her a pleading look to have some manners.

Kate grunted as she pulled her hand back. "Well, for as much as they make you pay, they could splurge for adult sized sandwiches, you know," she retorted. Sam just gave her a look, telling her to knock it off.

Since the room lacked tables and chairs, everyone had to stand around and talk. Supposedly this was to give everyone a chance to get to know their future peers and professors. It just seemed like an uncomfortable situation to Kate; however, Sam was in his element. He wasted no time in walking up to professors and striking up conversation. Kate quietly stood beside him and listened as they began talking about LSATs, graduation rates, and a bunch of other law and college stuff she didn't care to understand.

"Well, Sam, you seem like a very ambitious young man. Just what we look for here at Stanford. So, tell me, what's your ultimate goal in relation to the law program?" the old professor asked. As Sam went into his answer about graduating law school and opening up his own firm, it finally hit Kate and her heart sank to the floor. Sam wasn't planning on ever going back to hunting. He was going to start his own life, completely separate from theirs; not just for his college years, but for the rest of his life. She placed the rest of her sandwich down on the plate, suddenly losing her appetite. Sam couldn't leave her forever; she just wouldn't be able to deal with that.

Once Sam had finished his conversation and was satisfied that all of his questions had been answered, he turned to Kate who had been patiently waiting by his side all day. He noticed the food still on her plate and raised his eyebrows, silently asking what happened. "You probably shouldn't get the meal plan here. Food sucks," she answered as she looked around to find the nearest trashcan. Sam followed her, knowing something was really bothering her. He knew his little sister too well.

"What do you say we get out of here and get some real food then?" Sam said as he tossed his plate in the trash too.

"You sure? We can stay. I really don't mind, Sam," she offered as she looked around the room, not wanting to make eye contact with him.

"Yeah, let's go. I've seen everything I wanted to and I got to talk to professors. So I'm good." They made their way outside and Sam pointed them in the direction of the parking lot. As they were walking, Sam reached over and wrapped his arm around Kate's shoulders, pulling her in close to his side. And that was all it took for Kate's eyes to fill up with tears. But not wanting to cry in front of Sam, she took a deep breath to push them down down before he could notice; only thing was, Sam did notice. They finally made it to the car and Sam unlocked Kate's door first and made his way over to the driver's side. He opened the door and took one last look at campus, before taking a long breath, silently wishing he had never allowed Kate to come in the first place. He knew what was bothering her and that meant they were about to have a tough conversation, one he had hoped to put off for a very, very long time.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello amigos! Thank you SO much for the lovely reviews and adding my story to your favorites/alerts. You guys are my motivation :)**

**A special thank you to ispiltthemilk for helping when I got stuck in this chapter. Be sure to check out her sis fic! You can find it under my favorite's tab in my profile.**

**After a few people asking me, I decided to make this chapter a continuation of the previous one. I hope you all enjoy because I had a lot of fun writing it! Let me know if you have any requests for future chapters! And finally, don't forget to read and review :)**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 3.**

Dean-22

Sam-18

Kate-14

The first 40 minutes of the drive home were silent. Neither Sam nor Kate said anything, each waiting for the other to speak up first. After the first 5 minutes of not talking, Kate couldn't take the silence anymore so she turned on the radio to drown out the lingering tension in the car. She rested her head in the palm of her hand as she gazed out the window. The cities and building went flying by as they cruised down the interstate, heading back to their motel room.

Finally Sam couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up, "You wanna talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about, Sammy," Kate replied, not taking her gaze off the passing trees.

"Yes there is. Tell me what's bothering you. Something changed when I was talking to those professors…" As much as he didn't want to have this conversation, he just wanted to get it started.

"It's nothing, I'm just happy you get to finally do what you want," Kate said. It wasn't a complete die; she really _was_ happy for him. She just wasn't telling the whole truth. Kate turned her head to look at Sam, who just so happened to be doing the same. Their eyes met for a second and somehow that was all it took for Kate to finally come out with what was bothering her. "I don't know…I knew you always wanted to go away and do this college thing, but I guess I just never thought that it would be _forever_." Kate turned back towards the window, not wanting to see her brother.

"Who said anything about forever?" Sam asked softly.

"It's practically implied, Sam. There's no room for our hunting family between your apple pie and white picket fence lawyer life," Kate said, trying to hide the hurt in her voice.

"You know I don't want to hunt for the rest of my life, and now is my chance to get out. There's so much more _normal_ stuff out there, Katie. But none of this means that when I go away to college that I'll be gone _gone_. I'll always be a part of your life, no matter what. You know that, right?" Sam explained, his voice gentle and sincere.

"Can we at least be realistic? It's either one or the other. Normal or Hunting. They don't mix and guess what? You can't have both. So when you leave this summer…it's just…," Kate paused as she felt her throat begin to clench shut. "It's just, I don't want it to be like that."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Kate! You know I will always be there for you when you need me." Sam kept his gaze on the road, not wanting to look at the pain he was sure was in his sister's eyes. The topic of conversation wasn't exactly an easy one.

"Yeah, but pretty soon you are going to have your own life outside of this certifiably crazy family. One that I'm not going to be a part of…" She discreetly wipe away two lone tears that had escaped.

"You act like we are living in the 50's. There's the phone, emails…heck, I'd even hire a carrier pigeon if it came to it." Sam was trying to convince her it was all going to work out.

"And when Dean and Dad want to know who I'm talking to all the time? It's not like I have a long list of friends who just love to call me up and chat. I'm sure all of this will go over real well with them…But seriously, you'll be in that big, huge library so much that you won't even have time for me…" Kate didn't want to take away from his excitement, but somehow she felt like she just surprised herself with her own pity party. She had never known her mom, so in the grand scheme of things, Sam was about to be the first person to leave her.

"Come on, Katie. You know that's not true…Besides the library isn't even open 24 hours, so I'll have to leave _sometime_," Sam tried to lighten the mood, but realized he had failed because as he looked over at his sister, he saw her wipe away one last tear. He felt his heart shatter. He had never really thought how this would affect his little sister. He would do anything to not upset her, but this was just something he couldn't change. This was his chance to get out. He _had_ to get out. And if all went right, in 4 years he would be able to get her out too.

Kate took a few deep breaths to steady her voice to reply, but before she could, the abrupt sound of her cell phone ringing caused their conversation to be put on hold. She reached to pull it out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID on the screen: _The Short One._ She sat up at lightening speed, causing Sam to look over at her. She held up her phone and said panicking, "It's Dean! _Dean_ is calling me!"

"Shit," Sam muttered as he quickly turned into the right lane and then pulled off on the side of the road.

"I have to answer or he'll know something is up! We're supposed to be home from school now!" Kate was freaking out. The last thing they needed was for Dean to realize they took the Impala for a non-emergency, not to mention that the non-emergency was a trip to _college_.

Sam turned off the engine and looked over at his sister. "Pick it up!" he ordered.

At that order, Kate opened up her phone reflexively. "Hello?" Her heart was pounding in her throat. She took small, silent breaths to try and collect herself.

"Geesh, what took you so long? I gave you that phone for you to answer when I call, not just to sit around and listen to your stupid ringtone!" Frustration was already clear in Dean's voice. Leave it to him to skip over the pleasantries of "how are you" and get to the point.

"Oh…uh…," Kate began, trying to come up with some excuse, _any excuse_. Sam's eyes silently pleaded her to just play it cool and not to mess this up. He didn't have much faith in her right now after he had witnessed her poor lying this morning. "I was in the bathroom," she finally blurted out.

"The bathroom?" Dean questioned, immediately becoming suspicious.

"Yeah, you know…taking care of business," she managed to get out.

"Uh huh…," Dean trailed off, obviously still doubtful.

"What? Do you want me to draw you a picture or something?" Kate retorted, hoping to just change the subject. She felt like she was being cornered.

"What?! Uh, gross, Kate!" She gave Sam a small smile, showing that things were finally back on track. Dean continued, "Anyway, I'll be home in an hour. We finished up and Dad's gonna drop me off cuz he got a call from Caleb for some help." Kate froze. She felt her eyes almost jump out of her head. Dean instantly picked up on the silence on the other end. "Hello? Kate! Minutes aren't free, you know!" Dean scolded.

"Ok, cool. Uh, what time did you say you'd be back?" Kate asked, nervously. Sam finally understood why Kate's face had dropped. He shifted in his seat as a wave of panic jolted through him. He _knew_ it was a bad idea to go to Stanford. Dean and his dad always found out everything. He was going to be dead.

"I don't know! In like an hour or something. Why does it even matter?" Dean was getting annoyed with how weird Kate was acting.

"Just want to know if you're gonna pick up dinner," she replied. Sam gave a slight nod in approval of how good she was covering.

"Yes, I'll freaking get you guys dinner. Kate, what's going on? You're acting more freakish than usual...Is there…is there a GUY in the room with you!" Dean's voice rose at the end. It was more of an accusation than a question. He thought he'd finally figured out what was going on and was not happy about it. He had always been known to jump to conclusions based on little evidence.

"What?! Dean, there's no-," she was cut off.

"Son, give me the phone," came a muffled voice as the phone got passed over. "What's going on over there, young lady?" John's voice boomed.

Kate squeezed her eyes closed. She definitely didn't see this one coming. "Oh, hi Dad! Nothing is going on! I swear," Kate said. Sam ran a hand over his face, knowing they were done for now that John was involved.

"Then why is Dean saying you're with a _boy_?" John asked, accusingly.

"Cuz he's an overprotective freak who is making things up!" Kate was getting offended now. This conversation had taken on a life of its own.

"Kate…," John said sternly. She would never be able to figure out how John did it. He could just say her name and make her feel like a little, disobedient girl being scolded all over again.

"The only boy here is Sam!" she quickly shoved the phone to Sam, who gave her a pissed off look.

"Hi Dad. Yeah, everything is fine here…yup, just me and Kate. No one else….I promise….Ok, sir. Bye," Sam finished. Kate couldn't hear what John was saying, but it was pretty easy to pick up on. "Well they bought it. Now we have to haul ass and get there before Dean does!"

"So quit wasting time and get this car into gear! We still have more than an hours drive ahead of us!" Kate shouted as she sat back in her seat. Both Kate and Sam could feel the adrenaline pumping through them. They HAD to make it home. She willed the car to just go faster.

Music from the radio and the sound of the wind buzzing in through the rolled down windows was all that filled the Impala for the rest of the drive home. They didn't want to bring back up their previous conversation. There was no point; it was like they were talking in circles anyway. And they had a much more pressing issue at hand. Every possible scenario of what was awaiting them back at the motel kept running through Kate's head, and she was sure Sam was thinking about the same things.

Sam pulled into the motel parking lot and strategically parked the car exactly how he remembered seeing it. "Do you think he's back yet?" Kate asked in a panicked voice as she quickly got out to double check that the car was parked okay.

"Hope not…" Sam finished locking the doors as he tossed the room key to Kate. She opened the door slowly, peeking inside. When she didn't see any mysterious shadows, she knew they had made it before Dean. She waved for Sam to hurry and come in. She closed and locked the door as Sam threw his stuff down on the table. "Shit!" he yelled as he looked out the window. Kate followed his gaze out the window and saw her dad's familiar truck pulling in the parking lot, coming from the opposite direction they had.

Kate stumbled as she tried to take off her shoes and make her way over to the couch, wanting to make it look like she had been there all along. Sam followed suit and was first to sit down and turn on the TV. Kate practically dove onto the couch, just as she heard someone unlocking the door.

"Miss me?" Dean joked as he closed the door behind him. Sam and Kate both looked from him over to the window, just in time to see the truck pull away. "Oh, Dad says hey," he finished. As he walked over to take a seat on the chair beside the couch, he did a once over of the room, trying to figure out what had been going on. "So what'd I miss?"

There was a slight pause before anyone answered, which only added to Dean's growing suspicions that something was amiss. "Nothing much. Same old stuff as always," Sam said nonchalantly as he continued to flip through some channels. Dean turned to Kate and raised his eyebrows as if waiting for a response. Lying to Dean on the phone had been easy, but now that he was giving her _that_ look, things were not good. She quickly diverted her gaze to the TV as she tried not to stumble over her words.

"Oh, you know…pretty boring...Sam knows how to suck the fun out of everything. He's a real dictator when it comes to finishing all your homework on time," Kate replied, hoping to stay in Dean's good graces by making fun of Sam, something that Dean always approved of, being the loving brother he was. She inwardly smiled; she had finally told a decent lie today.

Dean looked from one back to the other. He knew something was up. He'd practically raised these two and nothing got past him. "Well okay then…I'm gonna get some grub. Be back soon," Dean said as he headed out the door. He would catch them sooner or later. It was only a matter of time.

When the familiar sound of the Impala's engine fired up, Kate and Sam breathed a sigh of relief. The hard part was over now. But instead of hearing the Impala drive off into the distance, the engine was immediately turned off. The sound of one door slamming shut and almost immediately followed by the motel door opening pierced their ears. "Ok, someone want to tell me what the hell you did!" Dean demanded.

Kate threw Sam a worried look, but was met with eyes that said 'knock it off'. "What are you talking about?" Sam thought playing innocent must be the best route.

"Don't play stupid with me. I know you drove the Impala." Dean crossed his arms and narrowed his gaze.

"Well looks like _you're_ the stupid one because we didn't." Kate tried to help out.

"Oh yeah? Then why was some punk ass boy band coming out of the speakers when I turned her on? Now I sure as hell don't remember listening to them ever. So let's see. Both of you look _not_ on the verge of death and I don't see any cops on your ass. So why did you touch my car?" Dean was aggravated. He thought he had been _very_ clear on the rules about his baby.

"Dean…uh, you see, we were just…," Now it was Sam's turn to stumble over his words. Kate knew she had to do something. She dug down deep inside and mustered up every ounce of bravery and self-confidence she could find. She put her hand on Sam's knee, signaling him to stop talking.

"It's okay, Sam. Let's just tell him the truth," Kate began. Sam reached out and grabbed her arm, tightly squeezing it in a silent plead to not do this.

"Well?" Dean demanded.

"I…I had a girl-mergency and Sam took me to the store," she stated. Once the words left her mouth, Sam removed his death grip from her arm and inwardly rejoiced.

"_Girl-mergency_?" Dean repeated, not fully understanding where this was going.

"Well, when a girl becomes a woman, her body goes through some change-," she began to explain.

"Oh, god. Stop, stop, stop!" Dean yelled as he put his hands up for extra emphasis on the _stop_ part. He stared at Kate, still not believing what had just come out of her mouth. He felt like every Winchester rule had been broken in a single sentence. When Dean's horrified stare was returned with a smirk from Kate, he turned around on his heel and made his way back towards the door, but not before grumbling, "What did I ever friggin' do to deserve a sister!"

As they heard the Impala start up again and actually take off this time, Sam and Kate let out a huge breath; they didn't even realize they had been holding it. They both began to laugh as they exchanged a high five.

"Gotta give you credit. You're lying has definitely improved since this morning," Sam joked.

"What can I say? I'm a Winchester. Lying must be in my blood." Kate smiled as she relaxed back on the couch, thankful they had managed to slide by without anyone finding out. It was Sam's secret to share, and now was just _not_ the time.

As they settled in to watch TV and wait on Dean, Kate couldn't help but replay through everything they had talked about in the car. She rolled her head over to look at Sam quickly. Maybe he _was _right. Maybe they could stay just as close while he was at college. Maybe things wouldn't really change at all. She looked back at the TV and closed her eyes as she felt her pessimistic side come out. Who was she kidding? Things were about to change drastically and she had no choice in the matter. Well she'd be getting lots of practice with her lying skills now; she'd learn how to throw on a happy face and act like everything was okay. She'd do as she had always done, and muddle through somehow.


	23. Chapter 23

**Hola, everyone! I cannot thank you enough for the kind reviews and messages you have sent me, along with adding my story to your alerts and favorites! You guys are amazing! Sadly updates are going to continue to be infrequent. School is getting crazy and I'm finding myself with less and less free time. So please hang with me! **

**I want to thank ****demongirl16**** for giving me an awesome idea for this chapter! I hope you like it :)**

**Also, a special shout out to ispiltthemilk for helping me when I got stuck in this chapter. Let's all thank her by checking out her sisfic! You can find it under my 'favorites' tab.**

**So this is the longest chapter I have written yet! It kind of took on a life of its own, haha. I hope you all enjoy it and as always, please read and REVIEW! I love hearing your feedback. It really does help me!**

**A/N: This chapter takes place towards the beginning of Season 1.**

Dean-26

Sam-22

Kate-18

"Guys, have you seen my phone?" Dean asked. Sam and Kate turned back to look at him as he continued to search through the crap motel room, pulling up sheets and checking under everything in search of his cell phone.

Sam shrugged his shoulders as he continued to eat and Kate didn't find the topic interesting enough to respond yet. "GUYS!" Dean shouted, this time annoyance clear in his voice.

"I'm going to buy you one of those waistband clip holders for your phone. I swear you misplace it more times than Sam and I combined," Kate said as she took another bite of her cheeseburger.

"Yeah, I hear they're all the rage with the kids these days," Sam joked.

Dean sighed in frustration as he stormed over to the table where his siblings were sitting. "How about you both shut up and just tell me where my phone is." He slammed his hands down on the table as he looked from one to the other, seeing which one would break first.

"Well which is it Dean? Shut up? Or tell you where the phone is?" Kate asked innocently, not being phased by his death glare.

"Yeah, you kinda have to pick one or the other. We can't do both, for obvious reasons," Sam joined in, not being able to hide his smile. Seeing Dean get flustered was one of his and Kate's favorite pastimes these days. Living life on the road left for very little entertainment, so they had to create their own. Only this time it was extra special, because it was so unexpected. Truth was neither of them actually hid his phone, but where was the fun in telling Dean that?

Dean rubbed his hand along his jaw line, as he took a moment to calm down. He remembered a time when life was more peaceful. When all he had to put up with was a bitchy teenage girl. But now that Sam was back, Dean's frustration had hit a whole new level with those two. "Tell me. Or I'll beat it out of you," Dean threatened as he around to the other side of the table and stood in between their chairs.

Kate let a small laugh escape. "Um, I'm pretty sure Dad made it very clear you can't ever punch me." She smirked as she continued chewing on some fries.

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure he never said anything about this…," Dean trailed off as he quickly turned towards Kate's chair, grabbed the back of it and pulled it out from underneath her, causing her to fall to the ground with a loud _thump._

Kate groaned as she sat up. "Why am I _always_ the one who gets thrown on the ground!" Her eyes met Deans, equally as pissed off now.

"Well Sam's kinda super sized, so my options are limited," Dean retorted.

"What? So I get punished because I'm not an overgrown giant!" She pulled herself back up and grabbed the chair out of Dean's hands before sitting back down, careful to keep a watchful eye on his every movement.

"Life's not fair. Get over it. Now give me my phone!" Dean impatiently held out his hand and waited.

"We don't have it," Sam said calmly. Dean's glare told him he wasn't buying it. "Honest truth, man. No idea where it is."

Dean looked at Kate now, expecting her to have some sort of response too. "Look," she said as she help up her phone and dialed Dean's number. "Now listen." They all waited in silence until they heard the muffled sound of a phone vibrating and playing music close by. Kate could hear a guitar blasting and drum banging and instantly realized it had to be an AC/DC ringtone. She rolled her eyes as Dean slowly tried to follow the sound, which lead him to his own duffle. He quickly dug through it, discarding clothes all over the bed in the process. Finally he pulled out his phone and held it up triumphantly as the ringtone continued to blare. Kate listened closely and realized it wasn't just music but there was singing too.

_Problem child…_

_I'm a problem child…_

_Problem child…_

_Problem child…_

As the words processed in her mind, she looked down at her phone that still said "Calling _The Short Brother_". Then it finally hit her. That ringtone was meant for _her_ calls. Her face scrunched up in anger. "That's the ringtone you have for ME!"

Sam laughed. "I can't believe you still have that on there." Kate whipped her head around to Sam.

"Still?" She threw her glance back to Dean. "How long?"

"Well, let's see…when did you first get a cell phone?" Dean answered with his infamous, devilish smirk plastered across his face.

Kate felt offended. "I think out of the two of us," she motioned between herself and Sam, "I'm the less problematic one!"

"Well that's still up for debate," Dean said as he took a seat with his siblings at the table.

"Change it!" she demanded.

"Oh sure, I'll get right on that, never," Dean retorted. Kate reached across in the table in an attempt to grab his phone, but with his quick reflexes, he pulled it away. She sat back in her chair with her arms folded, feeling defeated.

"Well in other news, we're broke," Dean stated, looking from his pissed off sister to his brother.

"So? Not like that's earth shattering news or anything," Sam replied, not sure what the point was.

"Oh, my. I'm just unbelievably shocked by this sudden revelation," Kate said sarcastically.

"No, you dumbasses, I mean broke broke. As in I spent the last money on the food you are eating," Dean explained. Sam silently nodded his head, finally understanding where this was going. Kate took another bite of her burger and her taste buds internally declared the last of their money was well spent. "Looks like we're hitting the bars tonight, gang." Dean rubbed his hands together and smiled. He was ready for some action.

* * *

After they had finished eating, they took turns getting ready to leave. Dean was sitting on the couch tying his shoes while Sam was shoving some clothes back into his bag over on the bed. Kate walked out of the bathroom and over to her stuff beside Sam. He looked at what she was wearing and his eyebrows raised. She just shrugged her shoulders as she continued to cram her stuff in.

Dean stood up and turned around to face his siblings as he said, "Will you slow pokes hurr-," He stopped himself mid sentence when his eyes landed on Kate. "Um, what are you wearing?" he asked impatiently.

Kate looked down at her outfit. She had on a pair of fitted jeans and black flats, which was nothing new. She pulled her spaghetti strap black tank top away from her stomach, as if to examine in. It wasn't _that_ tight. She then reached up and touched her bare shoulder. "Oh my gosh. I'm letting my _shoulders_ just hang out there, completely in the open. Just what _will_ those bar folk think of me!" her response was laced with sarcasm.

"Yeah, well I don't like it. Go change," Dean said, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Well I don't like being thrown on the floor, but that never seems to change," Kate retorted. She took one last glance down at her shirt. She saw no problem with it. It wasn't even low cut enough to show cleavage, not that she had much to show off anyway. It was just a simple, black tank top. She grabbed her cell phone and fake ID off the bed and shoved past Dean, making sure to knock him in the shoulder, as she made her way to the door.

Dean and Sam shared a glance before Dean groaned and said, "First her shoulders, then next thing she'll have a freaking tramp stamp. It's a downward spiral, Sammy."

Sam let out a small laugh. "Dude, you don't have to worry," he said as he walked by Dean, giving him a hard smack on the back. Dean narrowed his gaze, annoyed that everyone felt the need to hit him. He picked up his keys and wallet and made his way out to the Impala.

* * *

They finally arrived at the bar and were making their way towards the entrance. "Time to put this thing to good use again!" Kate said as she turned around held up her fake 21 ID. John had finally relented shortly after her 18th birthday and had given her a new ID. He had been very strict when he explained it was only to be able to help more during cases, but John was never around and Dean had eventually given in to her annoying persistence and had agreed to let her buy a drink or two tonight.

The three Winchesters walked into the bar and took a moment to take in the layout. On the right, there was the bar, complete with 2 bartenders and a bunch of stools. There were various tables spread out across the room. Sam and Dean both spotted the pool tables in the back corner, and Dean took off right away. Sam gave Kate a soft smile before following his brother. Kate didn't mind not being able to help with hustling pool. First, she wasn't that good at it anyway. And second, Dean didn't want her anywhere near those people they normally played against.

Kate made her way over to the bar and hopped up on the seat, leaving her feet to hang off to the side. She watched as her brothers made their way over to the pool tables and started conversing with some 'plaid wearing bearded country folk', as she liked to call them. Suddenly she heard the bartender come up and lay a drink down in front of her. "Here you go," he said as he pushed it towards her.

She gave him a confused look. "But I haven't even ordered anything yet," she said.

The bartender smiled as he pointed towards a nearby table. "They did for you."

She slowly turned around to look at the table. There were four guys sitting there and when she made eye contact with them, the dark haired one waved at her. She shyly waved back and quickly turned around before they could notice how much she was blushing. The guy that had sent her the drink was in his late 20's, had short, dark hair, and was wearing a button up striped shirt with light colored jeans. Kate couldn't believe she hadn't noticed him when she walked in, especially because he _wasn't_ dressed in plaid like 75% of the other people in the bar.

Seeing no harm in the matter, she picked up her drink and took a nice long sip, savoring the taste. She had no idea what it was and she wasn't about to look stupid by asking the bartender, so she just continued on drinking and enjoying it.

She took a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure everything was going okay with Sam and Dean. Things looked to be about right on schedule. They would get the money in no time and they'd be out of this place.

"Hey," came a deep voice beside her that caused her to jump a little. She turned to the other side and saw that the dark haired mystery man was now sitting beside her at the bar.

"Hey yourself," she said softly. She was surprised at how flirtatious she just sounded.

Like an instant blip on Dean's radar, he noticed the guy as he went to sit beside Kate. His eyes zoomed in on what was happening. He nudged Sam in the side and motioned towards them with his head. Sam just gave him a 'knock it off' look and said, "Let them go. It's harmless." Then he got back to the pool game.

Dean did not like Sam's response. Harmless? Obviously that was a lie. This guy only had a one track mind and Dean knew it. It took all his strength to not go over there and pull his sister away from that guy right then; but he knew that this pool game was very important right now. They needed the money. So he settled for just keeping a watchful eye over her from afar.

Meanwhile, Kate and the boy, whose name she found out was Tyler, began talking and joking about anything and everything. Of course she lied about most of things she told him, but it was still a lot of fun and before she knew it he had bought each of them shots. Falling under the pressure of not wanting to look like the 18 year old wimp she really was, she made sure her back was facing Dean and quickly downed the shots along with Tyler.

Normally Dean would have instantly picked up on the fact that Kate was carelessly drinking away, but as life would have it, a group of young, good looking girls had entered the bar not too long ago, and Dean had immediately been drawn to look at…other things.

About 40 minutes and a few drinks later, Kate felt great. She felt like a whole new person; one who was no longer nervous or reserved. She found herself laughing at everything and even reaching out to touch his hand as they talked.

"…and that's why shooting fireworks out of your mouth is a bad idea!" Tyler finished his story. Kate no longer had control over the volume of her voice and her laugh came out way louder than she had planned. Dean and Sam, along with just about everyone else in the bar, paused as they looked over at the source of the excessive noise.

Once Dean got over the shock that a noise that loud had come from his sister, he immediately realized he had not even been paying attention to what she was doing. He inwardly cursed those low cut and too short dresses all those women were wearing. Sam and Dean looked at each other, both knowing what they had to do. In two quick strokes, Dean finished up the current game and Sam grabbed the cash prize that had been sitting on the edge of the table. Amid grumbles and complaints from the other players, Sam quickly left with all the cash and made his way outside, leaving Dean to handle things.

As Dean approached his sister at the bar, his mind kept going over his options. He could drag her tipsy ass out of there as the big overprotective brother he was…or he could…

"I'm gonna need to see some ID," his voice boomed as he stood directly behind the two of them. Kate immediately recognized that voice and turned around as fear ran through her entire body. All of the happiness and easy-going personality she had been feeling instantly fled as she saw the look on her brother's face. Tyler also turned around just in time to see Dean pull a police badge out of his pocket.

"Um, yeah, no problem," Tyler said as he fumbled to reach into his back pocket for his wallet. He wasn't worried about anything because he was legal, so he didn't get why this cop was hounding them.

"Just show him your ID so he can leave," Tyler encouraged as he handed a card over to Dean. As he inspected it, his eyes were instantly drawn to the date of birth. Dean felt his stomach turn inside out when he realized this Tyler guy was 28. The creep was older than _he_ was, and that was so far from okay.

"Seriously?" The word had slipped out of Kate's mouth before she even had a chance to stop it. She couldn't believe any of this was happening. Tyler shot her a frightened look, pleading her to _not_ argue with a cop. He did not want any problems.

Dean's gaze tore into her. "Are you not going to follow my orders, young lady? I believe I asked to see your ID."

Even in her not normal state of mind, she understood the double meaning of everything he said. Kate took a quick look around the room and noticed that almost everyone's eyes were on them right now. She was about ready to blow Dean's cover and fight him about this, but thankfully she realized that making an even bigger scene would not help either of them. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her ID and slammed it into Dean's hands. "Here," she said in a low, angry voice. Apparently a tipsy Kate was either an extremely happy one or an extremely pissed off one. One extreme to the next in no time.

Dean pretended to carefully examine the small card, bending it one way and another to see the hidden reflections. "Nice try, but this is probably the worse fake ID I've ever seen. What, did you do make this at home?" Dean said, even they both knew all of that was a lie. It was a damn good fake ID.

"What can I say, my brother does a piss poor job," Kate said through gritted teeth, realizing how this was all going to end now.

"Well I think it's time we take you down to the station and take care of this matter," Dean said as he grabbed on to her upper arm and pulled her up and off of the stool. Kate kept her eyes on the floor, but she could still feel everyone's stares burn into her as she was dragged to the door by the 'police officer'.

Once they got outside, Kate saw Sam leaning up against the side of the Impala as he waited. He noticed Dean's death grip on her arm and the severely pissed off look on her face. "Guys?" Sam asked, implying he wanted some kind of explanation. He just assumed Dean would tell the guy off and grab Kate and leave, but he could tell that there was something else brewing.

Kate ignored Sam's question. "Let go of me, you ass hole!" she said loudly as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. When he wouldn't give, she used her free arm to elbow him in the ribs, which instantly caused him to let go as he slightly doubled over in pain.

"What the hell!" he yelled as Kate started walking off in the opposite direction. "What is your deal!"

Sam felt himself cringe as he heard their shouts and he knew there was about to be a Winchester show down in this parking lot. He instinctively looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized there weren't any witnesses in sight.

Kate stopped when she heard Dean's voice. She started to turn around on her heel, but had to stop to balance herself first, feeling the alcohol. Finally, she turned to face him. "What's my deal?! YOU! You never let me just BE! You are always stalking my every move. I'm all fucking grown up, Dean. I don't need you taking care of me," Kate spat out angrily. She didn't mean half of the things she was saying, but the filter between her brain and mouth had apparently disappeared.

Dean took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them. Sam started moving closer to them, just in case this mess got any further out of hand. "Yeah, because you obviously know how to take care of yourself. Look at you! You're well on your way to being drunk! Way to be responsible. Oh, and that guy? He was 28, Kate!"

Sam head turned to the side in confused shock as he heard the last part. "28?" he asked.

"Yes, fucking 28, Sam. The scum bag is older than _we_ are," he spat out.

Kate felt her gaze narrow. "So what! _You've _slept with prostitutes of all ages. So unless you can now sex with your eyes, he and I weren't doing anything wrong!"

Sam let a small chuckle escape at Kate's last comment, finding it funny for some reason. Dean and Kate hastily shot him death looks and he quickly muffled his laugh.

"Just get in the damn car. I don't feel like discussing any of this with a drunken you," Dean said as he turned to his left and made a few steps towards the driver's door. "You better be thankful Dad isn't here to see this crap you're pulling," he shot back over his shoulder.

"Thankful? THANKFUL?" Kate felt her blood start to boil. In a few short strides, she was beside Dean again, with Sam slowly trailing behind. "You think I'm _thankful_ Dad's not here?! Why? So I can put up with you always being on my case? So I can lie awake at night silently freaking out and wondering why he never picks up? Why he's ignoring us?"

Kate and Dean appeared to be in some sort of staring contest. Neither of them moved a muscle. Sam rubbed his hand over his face and slightly nodded his head. So the _real_ reason had finally come out in the open. All it took was a few drinks and her brother pissing her off for Kate to finally unload what had been bothering her for what appeared to be quite some time now. Sam reached out to grab her shoulder, but he dropped his hand when he heard her start talking again.

"For all we know he could be dead, Dean. DEAD! So there is NOTHING to be thankful for. I'm literally living a nightmare right now and all you seem to care about is how I'm acting." Kate felt a few tears sting her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She was just so mad and had no idea where those tears were coming from.

All three of the Winchesters seemed to freeze. No one moved. No one said anything. They were all taking some much needed time to digest everything that was just said. It's not like they had ever sat around and had a deep discussion about how John's disappearance was personally affecting each one of them. They each had just been dealing with their own issues and tonight Kate had reached her breaking point, and Dean just happened to be on the receiving end of it all.

Dean had no idea how to respond to her. He had been completely taken off guard by her comments and didn't know how to make it better. So instead of saying anything, he reached and opened the driver's door, ready to just get inside and hope all of this would disappear on the drive back.

Kate stared at him with wide eyes. She couldn't believe he wasn't going to say anything. Before he had a chance to get inside the car, she grabbed a hold of his arm and he reluctantly turned around to face her. His eyes were filled with guilt and hurt as they met hers, which still had tears in them. "You ass hole," she said as she gave him a hard shove, causing him to crash against the side of the Impala. Sure she was mad at Dean about the whole Tyler thing, but the alcohol had made this deeper truth come out. She would later regret treating him like that because it wasn't really his fault that John was still MIA, but right now she wasn't seeing anything clearly.

Kate took off walking towards the road. She needed some time to cool off and try to process through everything.

Dean let his arms fall to his sides as he watched his sister walk away. "Kate!" he yelled. She didn't even flinch and kept on going, almost reaching the end of the parking lot. Sam and Dean both knew they couldn't let their half drunk and pissed off sister just walk off alone. "Katelyn!"

Sam held up his hand, motioned for Dean to stop. He gave him a half smile before he jogged over to where Kate was. She looked up at him and frowned. "I don't want to talk about it," she said dryly.

"I know. But I'll be here when you're ready to," he replied softly as they both fell into stride together, now walking along the side of the road in the direction of the motel, which was about a mile or so away.

The roar of the Impala's engine filled the night air. A few moments later they heard, very faintly, as Dean yelled, "Damnit, Sam!"

Dean threw the car into gear and took off out of the parking lot, speeding past his brother and sister.

They both watched as the Impala disappeared around a curve up ahead. Kate continued to scrape her feet along the road, walking at snail's pace. She knew walking this slow had to be hard for Sam, with his enormous legs and all, but she didn't feel like going any faster. She kept her eyes glued on the black pavement in front of her as she asked her brother, "What'd you do?" Referring to why Dean had cursed at him.

Sam looked down at her, but she was still staring at the ground. "While you guys were still inside, I took his phone out of the glove box and hid it," Sam replied. Even though she wasn't looking at him, he could tell by the movement of her cheek that she had a small smile and he couldn't help but smile too. And that was all he needed to see in order to know she was going to be okay.


	24. Chapter 24

**Howdy, amigos! I cannot thank you all enough for your awesome reviews and adding my story to your favorites and alerts. You guys rock! Thank you for sticking with me, even though the updates have been rather infrequent lately. If you have a chance, check out my new story One Day at a Time. It goes through the series, starting with season 2, all told from Kate's POV. Let me know what you think!**

**This chapter was a special request by SPNxBookworm and then sweetkiwi604 gave me a great idea to add with it! You both are fabulous and thank you SSOO much for your help :) Don't forget to check out all of their stories! You will not regret it!**

**A/N: There is mention of a specific ****_Wishbone_**** episode in this chapter and I just wanted to clarify that Jensen Ackles in fact DOES appear in the episode I mention. Shock...I know! I just happened to find it one day while I perusing youtube, haha. Very short appearance, but the episode fit with my chapter, so I threw it in. It will all make more sense soon :)**

**Don't forget to read and review!**

* * *

Dean-20

Sam-16

Kate-12

"Ready?" Sam asked as he approached Kate, who was waiting for him in front of the school.

"Yes, sir," Kate joked as she jumped off the last two steps and started walking beside her brother as they headed back to the motel.

"Don't call me that," Sam said as he looked over at her.

"Why not? We say it to Dad sometimes. Even to Dean! It's not a bad word!" Kate said, not understanding what the big deal was.

"Well it's a stupid word." Sam looked straight ahead. Lately he had been even more fed up with his father than normal.

"Sam's a stupid word too," Kate retorted, not liking that Sam was telling her she was wrong.

**Flashback- 2 days ago**

Kate and Sam were sitting on the floor playing a game of _Go Fish_ while Dean was over by the bed packing some of his things.

"You know if you have the card I ask for, you have to give it to me," Sam reminded her, knowing there was a 50/50 chance she was cheating because she hated to lose.

"I don't have your card! Promise," Kate replied, slightly offended she was being accused of cheating.

Sam stared right at her and raised his left eyebrow, as if questioning the truthfulness of that statement. Kate tried really hard to mimic his face, but no matter how she moved her face muscles, she couldn't get that one darn eyebrow to raise up.

"You look constipated," Dean interjected. Kate immediately stopped trying and felt her cheeks blush. Sam and Dean couldn't help but burst out laughing.

All of a sudden the motel door came flying open and in stormed John Winchester. "Dean, are you ready?" his voice echoed through the room. Kate and Sam returned to their game as Dean shoved one last shirt in his small bag.

"Yeah, just have to grab one thing," Dean said as he went to the bathroom to get his toothbrush.

"Hey Dad, wanna play with us?" Kate looked up at him innocently. She always wanted to spend more time with her dad, but he was always too busy for her. However that never stopped her from asking.

John was staring at the bathroom door, impatiently waiting for Dean to come out. "Sorry, Kate, I can't. Dean and I are getting ready to go hun…," he was cut off by Dean who came walking out of the bathroom.

"..go _hundreds_ of miles away from here to work," Dean finished as he threw the last of this stuff into his bag, throwing John an evil glare over his shoulder.

"Oh, maybe next time," Kate replied before she went back to looking at the cards she was holding in her hands. It was hard for John to miss the hard glare Sam was giving him also. He almost let it slip. Hunt. Just that one small word would open Kate up to a whole different world of monsters and things that go bump in the night. But he hadn't clued her in yet, thanks to Dean's persistence more than anything. He had wanted all of his kids to know for a while now, but Dean had made him promise to keep Kate out of the loop as long as possible, saying it was what their mom would have wanted and John didn't have the heart to argue with that. He had already dragged his 2 boys into this; maybe there was still hope for Kate.

**End Flashback**

Sam and Kate continued walking on in silence for a few blocks. They only had 3 more to go.

"Since Dean's not home to say no, can we watch _Wishbone_ when we get back?" Kate asked. She remembered watching _Wishbone_ with Sam growing up, but Dean always hated that show, saying that a talking dog who read books was just too absurd.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sam replied. Even though he would never admit it, he loved watching it with her too because after _Wishbone_ would tell the story through his eyes, Kate would always have a bunch more questions and Sam got to put his knowledge on literature and history to the test.

Once they got back to the motel room, they threw their school bags on the bed and plopped down on the couch to watch the show. Kate had always wanted a dog, but her dad would never let her, so watching _Wishbone_ was as close as she was ever going to get.

The episode was about Mexico's history of the "Virgin de Guadalupe" and the miracles she performed and the faith one man had in her. Once Wishbone was done acting out the tale and the show went back to 'present day', Kate turned to Sam.

"So is that who you and Dean were talking about last week?" Kate asked innocently.

"What are you talking about?" Sam responded, very confused.

"I heard you guys talking about a virgin." Kate stared at Sam, waiting for an answer. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. How was it that Kate never heard the things she was supposed to and always managed to hear things that weren't meant for her.

"Um…eh…no. It wasn't about her. It was a..uh..different one," Sam explained as he nervously ran his hand through his hair.

"Oh," Kate replied, satisfied with his weird answer. She turned her attention back to the TV show just as a young boy began talking to 3 ladies who were sitting on the couch, Wishbone by their side. The sat silently while watching the last part of the show before Kate spoke up again. "So what's virgin mean anyway?"

Sam squeezed his eyes closed at hearing the question. He rolled his head to the side, hoping he had just imagined it all, but when he saw Kate's green eyes staring at him waiting for a response, he let out a small sigh. "It's uh…a girl…who is special-," he began.

Kate was trying to listen to his response, but her gaze was drawn back to the TV because Sam was taking too long to speak. "Holy guacamole!" she spat out as she pointed at the TV screen.

Sam's brows scrunched up, not realizing what Kate was talking about. He turned to look at the TV and felt his jaw drop.

_"The front door was open just a crack, so I let myself in...I hope that's okay," _came the male voice from the show. Both Kate and Sam scooted as close to the TV as they could without actually falling off the couch. The boy on the screen looked like the exact replica of Dean.

"It can't be," Sam said, still shocked.

"There's no way," Kate replied.

"But it looks just like…," Sam trailed off.

"Dean has an evil twin out there!" Kate sat back in her seat, still not believing the resemblance this Wishbone character shared with her brother.

"More like that guy is the _good_ twin. Dean's the evil one," Sam said as he also sat back. "He wouldn't even believe us if we told him."

"Yeah, I bet…," Kate began but was cut off by the sound of the motel door being unlocked and opened. John came into the room and stared at his two younger children for a brief second. His face looked drained and exhausted.

"Sam, I need to talk to you," he said firmly. Sam and Kate shared a confused look before he got up and walked over to his father.

"Where's Dean?" Kate asked as she leaned to look behind John, thinking Dean must be hiding.

"Sam, outside," John said, ignoring her question as he motioned for Sam to follow him. "We'll be back." And with that he closed the door, leaving a very confused Kate sitting alone on the couch.

She could hear John's muffled voice through the paper-thin walls. All of a sudden, Sam gasped, "What!" and Kate's head jerked up, staring at the closed door. Not wanting to be left out of something that was important, she made her way towards the door and slid down along the wall beside it, pressing her ear against the small crack.

"What do you mean he's hurt?" Sam yelled.

"It was an accident, Sam. It's a dangerous line of work. Shit is going to happen, but the doctors say he's going to be fine," John explained.

"Fine? Fine would mean he's _not_ laid up in the hospital unconscious. What _happened_?" Sam retorted. His anger was building up. Kate felt her heartbeat increase at the mention of Dean being in the hospital. Why was her brother hurt? What was going on?

"Vampires are damn good hunter, Sam. They must have picked up his scent and tracked us back to the truck. They got to him before I could stop all of them," John explained as he ran a hand over his face. He was just as upset as Sam was, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with this teenage drama crap. "I came by to pick up a few of his things before I head back to the hospital. I'll keep you posted on any news. And don't tell your sister. I don't need her knowing about this."

"Yes, sir," Sam replied in a dry tone.

Kate let the words roll over in her mind for a few seconds, then it registered that John was going to be coming inside! She quickly ran back over to the couch and sat down just as the door opened. John made his way over to Dean's duffle that he had left discarded along the wall by the bed. "Hey, Katie. Just came to grab a few things Dean forgot. We should be back in a few days, okay?" John was already back over by the door with the bag in hand.

She couldn't find words, so she just shook her head and lightly smiled as John left. Sam came back inside and closed and locked the door behind him. He looked a lot paler than Kate had remembered.

"Why did Dad come back?" she pried. She needed to know about this hunting stuff her dad had mentioned and the _vampires_. She knew what they were because she had seen them in movies, but it was all make believe. Why was her dad talking about them?

"He told you. Dean forgot something," Sam replied as he made his way back over to the couch.

"Dean doesn't forget things when he goes to work. Not ever," Kate said, gluing her eyes on Sam.

"Well there's a first time for everything," Sam replied as he stared at the TV, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Don't lie! I _heard_ what you and Dad said. Dean's in the hospital, isn't he?" Kate demanded, her voice rising slightly.

"You're making stuff up. Dean's fine," Sam said as he turned the channel, hoping to find some show to distract Kate.

"No, _you're_ making stuff up. I heard Dad talk about hunting, but I know they don't actually hunt, Sam! And then Dad said a _vampire_ attacked Dean and he's in the hospital! What's going on? You have to tell me. Stop lying!" Kate said as she felt her voice crack. She knew what she had heard and nothing made sense. She needed answers now.

Sam turned off the TV and slowly sat the remote down. He took a long, deep breath. He knew what he had to do now. There was no way getting around this one. The three of them had managed to lie and trick their way around Kate before, but now she had cornered him and there was no way out. She had overheard too much.

"Well first off, you know that Dean is going to be fine. He always is. So don't worry. And about the stuff you heard Dad saying…," Sam trailed off. Kate turned her body so she was entirely facing Sam, eagerly awaiting his explanation. "Well, Dad and Dean…and even myself…we hunt. But we don't hunt animals, like you think. We hunt…um…monsters…," Sam began.

Kate listened intently with eyes as large as saucers as Sam continued to explain what 'the family business' really was. He explained how their dad got into this mess to begin with. About their mom and what they think killed her. The revenge mission of their father. How monsters go bump in the night. That everything she had known before was basically a lie, but it was to protect her.

When he had finished talking, Kate had no idea how to respond. She wanted to form words, say something, but nothing came out. Her body was paralyzed in a state of shock. She had asked for the truth and that was what she got. As crazy as all of it sounded to her, she knew it had to be true because it all made sense now: why her family had guns in the back of their cars, knives under their pillows, and spent days away from her at a time. But never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that _this_ would be the reason.

"Come on, Katie…say something," Sam begged in a soft voice. He couldn't take the blank stare he was receiving from his little sister. He had never thought he'd be the one to tell her the truth and seeing that look absolutely broke his heart. It had really only ever been a matter of time. The older she got, the easier she picked up on the little things that didn't add up. "Katie…," he tried again.

"Sam. I…um…when can we see Dean?" she asked, quietly.

That was not the response Sam expected. "He should be home from the hospital in a few days," he replied.

"Oh," she said as she got up and made her way towards the bathroom door. "I'm going to shower now, if that's okay." Sam offered her a sympathetic and apologetic nod, as if giving her permission. He wanted her to talk about this, but he also didn't want to push anything right now. It just needed some time to sink in.

While Sam heard the water running, he quickly dialed John's number to tell him everything that had happened. His dad was going to want to know that Kate was in the loop now. At first John had been upset, but by the end of their conversation, he honestly felt relieved that his daughter knew. Now they didn't have to worry about letting anything slip or tip-toeing around her. As much as he never wanted _any_ of his kids to be a part of this kind of life, he was glad they could do it as a family now.

Kate walked out of the bathroom wrapped up in a towel to grab some new clothes from her bag. "Hey, I talked to Dad. He said Dean's awake so we can go see him, if you want," Sam said. He hoped that seeing Dean would cheer her up.

"Yeah, that's good," she replied softly as she grabbed some new clothes and went back into the bathroom to change.

She came back out and without saying a word to Sam, slipped on her shoes and grabbed her coat. She stood at the door and waited for Sam to catch up. Without saying a word, they left the hotel and got in the Impala to go to the hospital.

* * *

They went up to the third floor and were told that Dean Wilson was in room 3689. Sam and Kate stood in the doorway for a brief moment before entering and Sam immediately noticed that John was nowhere in sight. He assumed he must be off researching or something.

"I hope you brought pie," Dean said as he noticed their presence at the door. He was sitting up on the bed with the TV on. He had a small cut across his cheek and multiple bruises on his ribs and chest hidden by the hospital gown.

Kate slowly walked over to the side of Dean's bed and Sam stayed back in the doorway, wanting to give them a moment together. Dean immediately noticed that something was different with his sister. He shot Sam a questioning look, but didn't receive anything in response.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked in an almost inaudible tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine…," Dean responded, wondering where this was going. She looked at Dean's arm and saw an IV. She followed the chord and realized it led to a bag filled with a clear liquid inside.

"Why aren't they giving you blood?!" Panic was clear in her voice.

"Because I don't need blood…I'm fine. Katie, what's going on?" Dean gently grabbed on to her upper arm to get her to turn to face him. Her eyes were full of fear.

"Yes you do! Dad said the vampire got you and that means it drank all of your blood. Why is nobody trying to help you!" Kate spat out in one, rushed, meshed together sentence. Sam had explained to her monsters are real and all, but he hadn't went into specific details yet.

Now it was Dean's turn to panic. When he heard the word _vampire_ come out of her mouth, his eyes grew about twice their size. She wasn't supposed to know _why_ he was in the hospital. His glance went from Kate to Sam, who was now looking at the ground, not wanting to see Dean's reaction.

"Vampire?" Dean said slowly, not wanting to believe any of this himself.

Kate seemed to ignore his question and continued, "And then today I was watching _Wishbone _and I saw this guy who looked just like you. I joked and said it was your evil twin and I didn't think it could be real, but now that Sam told me that monsters exist and that a vampire hurt you, so I don't know what to believe! Dean, I just...I just don't want you to get hurt!" Kate felt tears sting her eyes. The whole monster bombshell had been dropped on her and she was having trouble processing through it all, but knowing something had attacked her brother filled her with all kinds of fear of what else could happen to her family.

Dean felt his heart drop out of his chest. He had no idea what the evil twin comment was able, but the fact that she just admitted to knowing monsters exist took precedence. His littler sister was never supposed to know about any of this. He had tried, and succeeded, to keep her in the dark for 12 years. And now her innocence was ruined. She was no longer going to be so carefree and energetic. It was all about to change and it was just too much for him to take in.

"Katie…," Dean said as he reached out and motioned for her to sit on the bed beside him. "I don't have an evil twin and the…the…vampire didn't get me. Dad saved me in time. I'm good." He searched her face to see if she understood. "I promise." And with that, Kate leaned over and rested her head against Dean's chest, feeling the weight of everything finally come crashing over her and not knowing how to hold it all in anymore. He flinched slightly at the pain, but he fought through it; this was more important. He rested a hand on her back and could tell that she was silently crying by the irregular breaths he could feel.

Sam finally entered the room and walked up to the side of the bed. He stared at Kate, curled up at Dean's side crying. And then he did it. He finally met Dean's gaze. He expected to see hatred, anger, pure rage, but instead he saw hurt, sadness, pain. Sam had already felt awful, but now his inner turmoil increased as he felt his throat clench shut and tears fill his eyes. "I'm sorry," he mouthed to Dean.

Dean slightly nodded his head and mouthed "It's okay." He didn't know the whole story yet about how she had found out or why Sam had told her everything, but he knew there was a good reason. Sam wouldn't do it unless there had been no other option. To be honest, he was surprised they had managed to keep it all a secret this long. At least Kate got 12 great years of a normal childhood. That was more than both he and Sam had gotten.

Dean could hear as Kate began crying harder. Sam sat down on the bed behind her and gently laid a hand on her back, rubbing small, soothing circles. Dean closed his eyes and rested his chin on top of her head. All of the hurt, sadness and pain he had been feeling finally spilled over as one lone tear streaked down his face. Things were about to change for the Winchesters.


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing fabulous and are pumped for the SPN season finale this week! EEK!  
Thank you guys so much for your wonderful reviews and adding this to your favorites and story alerts. I am seriously always blown away!**

**I appreciate you guys sticking with me, even if my updates have been few and far between. I'm in the home stretch of my semester, so things are crazy right now. But I'll try to update as often as I can!**

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****Let me know what you think of this chapter! Don't forget to read and review :)**  


* * *

Dean-20

Sam-16

Katie-11

Katie was really enjoying her new school. She had a nice teacher, Mrs. Johnson, and loved all of the subjects. She was learning new things right and left. She had a real enthusiasm for learning, but was starting to show signs of Dean's same desire for mediocrity. Ever since Dean and Sam had found out about Katie's below grade reading level, they had tried to be more involved in helping her with homework. They both were constantly telling her she could ask them for help if she didn't understand something. Today she was finally going to take them up on that offer.

Katie looked over at her brothers from where she was sitting on the couch. Dean was sitting at the small table by the window, perusing through the area newspapers, trying to find another case for John, who was out finishing up a hunt right now. Sam was sitting on the other side of the table, eagerly working on his History homework. Katie slowly got up off the couch and made her way over to them. "Guys," she stated. They both looked at her. "I need you to help explain something the teacher talked about today," she began as she looked from Sam to Dean.

"Well if it's Math, Science, Social Studies, or English…sorry, can't help you," Dean joked as he laid down the newspaper on the table.

"It's not any of those. At least I don't think so," Katie said. She paused as her eyes looked upward, trying to think what subject this topic would fall under. She couldn't figure out which one it would be.

"Well sit," Sam said as he gently pushed out a chair for her to join them. She slowly took a seat and bit her bottom lip nervously. She couldn't decide which question would be best to lead with. She just had too many!

"Enough with the dramatic pauses already. You've been hanging with Sammy too much," Dean said, almost exasperated. He always liked to just get to the point as quick as possible, but his younger siblings had been known to draw things out. Sam glared at him before he turned his attention back to his sister and slightly nodded, encouraging her to go on.

"Um…so…when did you guys start your period?" Katie began. Sam and Dean both exchanged panicked glances as they awkwardly shifted in their seats. Ok, maybe that wasn't the best question to lead with after all. Katie interpreted their silence as a need to explain more. "The teacher told us today that it can happen whenever cuz we're growing up and we should talk to our family about it," she finished. The dumbfounded look on their faces made her get nervous, thinking this might be one of those blacklisted topics in the Winchester family. There were so many things they just never talked about…why John was gone all the time, what happened to their mom, why they moved around…she had learned early on you just avoided those topics, especially with their father. But Mrs. Johnson had said the students should talk to their _family_ about this stuff, and they were the only family she had.

"Katie, guys don't have…er…um..._that_," Dean said. Cuss words could fly off the tip of his tongue without a second thought, but when it came to anything related to girls and their _personal_ matters, he got all tongue tied and became the textbook definition of _awkward_. He was not liking this conversation—at all. He did not want to think of his sister as anything but that: a little sister. Definitely not a girl, much less a _woman_. He cringed in disgust at the thought.

"Yeah-huh! Mrs. Johnson said that you get real grumpy and sometimes feel like eating a lot right before it starts. That pretty much describes you, Dean! All you do is eat and grump around," Katie explained, innocently. She felt like her logic was valid.

Sam quickly put his hand up over his mouth to stifle a laugh before saying, "Yes, Dean, that _does_ sound like you. Are you on your period?" Sam had to take full advantage of such a great situation. The Winchester brothers spent most of their time picking on each other, but it was a rare occasion when Sam got poke fun at Dean without even trying.

"Sam!" Dean grumbled in a low tone. Sam couldn't take the smile off of his face; this was all just too great—something to remember for the future. Katie noticed the weird interaction between her brothers and furrowed up brow in frustration that she was not being let in on the apparent joke.

Since Sam wasn't being any help in answering her question, Dean spoke up. "Katie…," he began as he looked back at her. He took a deep breath, not even knowing where he was going to go with this. "Katie, guys don't have a freaking…per... you know." He couldn't let the actual word come out of his mouth. Why couldn't his _dad_ be here to deal with this? Not that John would know how to handle it any better, but at least that meant Dean would be off the hook.

Katie's frustration immediately changed to pure confusion. This was news to her. "Did you even pay attention?" Dean asked accusingly.

"Yes, I paid attention! She told us about periods and pads and boobs and lots of other things," Katie said. Apparently she had never received the Winchester memo that contained the list of words that Dean had forbidden to come out of his little's sisters mouth.

Dean quickly picked up and looked at his phone. "Oh crap. Look at the time. I have to go pick up that pizza we ordered or we won't have dinner. Sam can answer your questions," he said as he rushed to grab his car keys and practically all but ran out the door and to the car before Sam or Katie had a chance to respond.

Sam just sat back in his chair, still in disbelief at what just happened. He had been sitting with Dean for the last hour and a half and he most definitely did _not_ order a pizza. _"Wimp," _he thought as he looked out to the window to see Dean scurry off in the Impala. Some great, big brother he was.

"So was Dean right?" Katie asked, with big green, innocent eyes, drawing Sam away from his thoughts. She always trusted what Dean said, but she couldn't believe she had missed such a fundamental fact.

"Yeah, he was. Guys don't have that stuff. Didn't the boys go to a different room when you talked about all this?" Sam asked softly, not wanting to upset her or make her feel stupid for coming to him with questions. As much as he was uncomfortable talking about this stuff, and it wasn't like he _understood_ it very well either, but he wanted Katie to have someone to talk to about things.

"Yeah, Mr. Clark took all the boys," Katie replied, still not seeing the connection Sam was trying to make.

"See? That's because boys and girls…um…have different things to discuss," he explained as he picked up his pencil and nervously began to spin it in his hand. He really didn't mind talking about these things with her, unlike Dean, but he was inwardly praying that she did not ask what those _differences _were. Now _that_ was not a conversation he would be having with his _little _sister.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," she said.

Sam felt his shoulder relax and he laid down the pencil again as a wave of relief washed over him. There was a short pause and Sam knew what he had to ask next. His poor sister had no female figures in her life. Not a mother or even an aunt. The closest one was probably the motel maids they met in each town. So that left just him, Dean, and their dad who were poor makeshift female role models. He suddenly felt bad that she had to figure this stuff out on her own, and was surprised she had been brave enough to bring it up to them. The last thing he wanted to do was make her think that they didn't care or would freak out, when she wanted to talk. "Do you have…I mean…have you started your…," he trailed off.

"Oh, no. I don't plan to. It doesn't sound fun," she responded nonchalantly as she sat back in her chair. She hadn't liked what Mrs. Johnson had talked about and just decided it wasn't for her.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure you don't have a choice," Sam replied gently.

"Yeah-huh. I'm in charge of my body, so I'm just going to tell it 'no'," she explained, seeing no problem with her reasoning.

"Um, well, if that's doesn't work out for you…and…well, when you…do have it, you know you can come to me to talk about…whatever. Captain Awkward won't be much help," Sam finished as he nodded towards the seat where Dean had been minutes earlier. Sam was having a hard time getting the words out too, but at least he had stuck around to actually _have_ a conversation with her.

"Thanks, Sammy," she said. She didn't understand why Sam was convinced that she was wrong, but it was still nice of him to show he cared. She got up and gave him a big hug and smile before going back over to her spot on the couch where she had been doing her Math homework.

She tried to get back to work, but her thoughts wouldn't let her. _"I don't get it. Why was Dean so freaked out? I hear him and Sam talk about girls all the time! Just yesterday they were even talking about __boobs!__ What's the big deal?"_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door open. Dean cautiously peeked his head inside to do a once over of the motel room, making sure Sam and Katie had concluded their 'discussion'. When he spotted Katie on the couch and Sam at the table, he knew the coast was clear. The conversation was over.

"Pizza's here!" Dean announced, closing the door behind him. He went over and dropped his car keys, phone, and pizza on the table before heading over to the fridge to grab some drinks.

"'Kay, almost done!" Katie replied as she tried to hurry and finish the last problem.

Sam quickly glanced over to the kitchen to make sure Dean was facing the other way. Sure that he was, Sam reached out and snatched his brother's phone off the table. He opened it up and clicked on the call log and rolled his eyes. He had been right all along. Just then, Dean turned around with cups and a 2 liter of Coke in his hand and saw his phone in Sam's hands. "Sam! Quit touching my stuff!" he yelled.

In 3 quick strides Dean was already over beside him and sat the things down on the table. He reached out to grab his phone but Sam quickly pulled it away. He then turned the phone around to show Dean what was on the screen. "Ordered pizza, huh? So weird. It doesn't show up here in your calls." A smug smile spilled across his face. Nothing better than catching his older brother in a lie. Oh this day just got better.

"Give me that," Dean said harshly as he was finally able to rip the phone out of Sam's hands. He glared at his little brother, very annoyed that he had felt the need to point that out. Sam stared at him, blinking, as if waiting for some sort of retort or response. "Shuddup," Dean said as he opened the pizza box and tried to ignore Sam's laugh that was taunting him.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hola! I feel like every chapter starts with an apology :( I know I have been awful at getting these chapter out lately, but I cannot thank you enough for sticking with me. Your reviews and adding this to your story alerts is beyond amazing. School is over in 2 weeks, so I should have some more free time then!**

**This chapter is set up a little different than past ones, but I hope you guys like it just the same. Please drop me a review and let me know if you had a favorite part, liked the ending, or just your thoughts about it in general! You have no idea how much they mean to me :)**

**As always, if you have any ideas, feel free to send them my way! I love taking requests.**

**And a special thanks to ispiltthemilk for helping me when I got stuck. Let's all thank her by cruising on over and reading her awesome sisfic!**

* * *

Dean-26

Sam-22 (at Stanford)

Kate-18

Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He hated cheap plastic chairs as much as he hated the cheap suit and tie he was wearing. And to top it all off, it was hot. He _hated_ the Midwest during the summer. The heat suffocated you and these stupid schools were built so long ago that they decided to conveniently forget to install air conditioning. And just his luck, he was going to be sitting in this gym for who knows how much longer. The graduation ceremony had started 40 minutes ago and all he had heard was some choir singing, watched a stupid slide show of 'memories', and listened to 2 speeches.

Dean sighed as he looked around at the gym full of people. It was crowded and a sea of people jammed packed together only meant one thing to him—crazy and chaos were sure to follow. But today he just had to deal because today Kate was graduating high school. Dean had been crazy persistent with their dad to make sure both Sam and Kate got to have the graduation ceremony and all, something he never got to have. And in following the tradition, John didn't show up this time either.

Dean couldn't help but think that shortly after Sam graduated, he took off. That was exactly three years ago. Although Dean knew Kate wasn't planning anything like that, he couldn't help but think of how she was growing up. Things were going to change now. They could all travel, didn't have to worry about finding local schools, and it could just be full time hunting.

He reached up and loosened his blue tie and undid the collar button of his white dress shirt. He felt like he was suffocating in here. Dean suddenly sat up straighter in his chair as a mom came plowing through the small aisle and practically took his legs right off. He was about to make some rude remark to Mrs. Soccer Mom, but when he saw the little brown haired girl trailing behind her, he refrained. The mom turned around to her girl, who couldn't have been more than 5. "Come on. Grab my hand," she said as she reached out to grab it.

As Dean watched them enter the main aisle and take off to the back of the room, he couldn't help but drift back…

_"Come on, Katie," Dean said as he stopped at the intersection facing their school. Sam and Katie stopped, each on one side of their older brother. "Hold my hand," Dean commanded as he held it out at his side for her to grab._

_6 year old Katie looked up at him with a stern face and crossed her arms, refusing to grab hold of his hand. They were on their way to school, and they were late, as usual. So the last thing Dean needed was a stubborn little sister to deal with._

_"We don't need to hold hands no more," she said defiantly. Dean didn't have time for this. He reached out to pull her arms apart so he could take hold of it, but Katie quickly threw them behind her back and laced them together. "Dean…I can cross the street by myself. Elmo teached me! 'member?"_

_Dean let out an audible grunt as he remembered the stupid Sesame Street episode she had watched a few days ago. He didn't feel like arguing with her anymore._

_"Fine, but don't you dare leave my side. Let's go, Sammy," he said. He held out his hand in front of her to keep her from walking on to the street as he looked both ways._

_Katie suddenly pulled on his pant leg to get his attention. "Dean, you gots to check two times. We gotta be extra safe like Big Bird," Katie persisted. Dean rolled his eyes. He could shoot a shot gun, track down a vampire and kill it, and had perfect aim for throwing knives, but now he was being forced to look not once, but twice, before crossing the street, just to be safe. Something was just so wrong and twisted about that. He grumbled, but willingly complied because he was happy she was at least taking this seriously._

_Once they had finally made it safely to the other side, Katie exclaimed, "See? I'm all growed up now, Dean!"_

_Dean smiled. One thing Katie never lacked was enthusiasm. "Not quite yet, shrimp," he said as he lightly ruffled her curly brown hair as they continued to make their way inside the school building._

Dean smiled softly at the memory. That seemed like lifetimes ago. He wished all his little sister had to worry about was crosswalk safety, but unfortunately too much had changed since then. They had bigger, _much bigger_, problems to worry about these days.

Dean looked up on the stage and saw Kate sitting there. Some other student was giving a speech right now and Dean was still bored out of his mind, so paying attention was _not_ an option. He never paid attention to anything in a school building, so why start now.

He continued to look around the gym and saw a couple in the row in front of him that were arguing in very low voices, as to not draw attention to themselves. Mission _not_ accomplished in Dean's mind. "What's the matter with you?" the man said harshly. It was barely audible, but somehow Dean had picked up on it, and he couldn't help but drift away again…

_Dean had just picked up Kate from school in the Impala and they were on their way back to the motel where Sam had been home sick for the last 2 days with the flu. Kate hadn't said a single word to Dean other than 'hi' when she got in the car, so he knew something was up. She was never this quiet._

_"What the matter?" he asked as he looked over at her. Kate continued to stare out the passenger's window, not even acknowledging her brother's question. "Seriously, Kate? Normally you talk even when I tell you to shut up, but now that I'm asking you to talk, you decide to go all silent," Dean said, hoping he could nudge her into opening up._

_"You're gonna be mad," she said in a soft voice, still not wanting to look at him._

_Dean hated when people started a conversation with that statement, because then it made him mad even before he knew what he should be mad about. And to top it all off, most of the time it turned out it wasn't even something to get mad over._

_"Doubtful," he replied, trying to keep calm so she'd continue on, but honestly every worse-case scenario was flying through his head._

_"My teacher said I'm gonna become a whore," she said flatly._

_Dean was taken so off guard that his hand jerked and the car veered into the other lane, when he then quickly whipped it back over. He took a deep breath; he was in no condition to drive. Kate reflexively grabbed on to the dashboard as the Impala swerved from one side to the other before coming to a stop along the curb as Dean put it in park and cut the engine. He turned to face her. "What the hell did your teacher say to you?!" he voice rose._

_"Well I mean those weren't his exact words, but it was pretty much implied," Kate explained as she slowly turned to face him. His forehead was scrunched up in a mix of fury and confusion._

_"You mind telling me exactly what he said then?" Dean demanded. He was about 2 seconds away from throwing his car in reverse and going to hunt himself a teacher._

_"Um, well, we were in health class today and the teacher was saying how now that we are all teenagers, we are gonna change. And like boys are gonna start to like girls and us girls are gonna like boys. And then I raised my hand," Kate began as Dean slowly rubbed his hand over his face. Nothing, nothing, ever ended well for him when the conversation revolved around something from health class._

_"Can we just skip to the part where he said you're a whore?" Dean pleaded._

_"I'm getting there, Dean. So he called on me and I said that I didn't believe him bout all of us starting liking each other cuz my big brother said that I was never gonna be like that cuz he, well I mean you, know how to make sure I'm not like that." She looked at Dean directly in the eyes. "Remember? You said that I was never allowed to like boys. Like ever. And you'd make sure it stayed that way. Well, Mr. Smith said that you were wrong!"_

_Dean took a few seconds to collect himself. "Well I'm not wrong. And you will NEVER like any boys. And that's final. But I still don't understand…"_

_Kate cut him off. "But he said you're wrong because it happens to EVERYONE, Dean. Every single person! He said it's human nature and that I'm gonna fall victim to…to…," she paused. Dean angrily held his hands out, gesturing for her to finish. "He said that me, just like every other person in the entire world, are gonna be taken over by…by…WHORE-mones!"_

_Dean turned back in his seat so he was facing straight ahead and he rested his forehead against the steering wheel. He pulled it back a few inches and then jammed it against the steering wheel again. He was not about to have a conversation with his sister about the real meaning of hormones. He refused to believe it. He pulled his head back and let it fall against the steering wheel one last time before just resting it there._

_"See? I told you that you'd be mad. But Mr. Jones says we are all growing up and we can't stop these hormones. Dean…Dean…I don't wanna grow up! And I really don't wanna be a whore!" Kate said panicking as she looked at her brother's head resting against the steering wheel, waiting for him to respond and tell her how they were going to fix this._

Dean slightly shook his head at the memory. He still couldn't believe the conversation they had had that day. If only he had kept a list of all the outrageous conversations she had come up with over the years, he was sure he could have sold them to some TV show. The crap she came up with was just too ridiculous to be made up.

He glanced up at the stage and saw that some teacher was now talking. He couldn't believe how long this was taking; he hadn't remembered Sam's being this boring, but then again, Kate had been there beside him, making fun of everyone right along with him. Dean reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out the program. He quickly skimmed along and when he saw that there was still another speech sitting between him and watching his sister graduate, he let out a long sigh.

Out of boredom, his eyes glanced over to the list of graduates and he searched along and found his sister's, second from last. The Wincheter name screwed them over yet again. He then noticed that she had two asterisks after her name. He quickly searched for the key to see what that was for. His eyebrows raised up in shock when he read it. It meant she was graduating with honors. His sister was not just graduating high school, she was graduating with _honors_. He sat back in his chair and stared up ahead at the stage. He couldn't believe it. He looked back down at the program again, just to make sure he had seen it right. And he had. He was suddenly bursting inwardly with the pride of a very proud parent, but honestly he had no idea she had been taking any of those kinds of classes because last he knew, she strived for the same level of mediocrity that he had...

_Dean had just reached the hotel door and he could already hear the arguing coming from inside. Only shocking part was John wasn't even home to be involved this time. "I'm not changing my mind, Sam! I don't want to do it!" Kate yelled at her brother who was standing on the other side of the kitchen table._

_"Yeah, well you're being stupid! You should listen to me for a change!" Sam yelled back as Dean came into the room. It was a good thing it was Dean and not some demon because they were too head to head in a Winchester Face Off to realize his sudden presence._

_"Listen to you?! What? Because you're older and 'wiser'?" Kate retorted sarcastically, adding air quotes around the last word. "Well news flash, moron, I'm all grown up too!"_

_"Grown up? You're acting like—," Sam was cut off as Dean came into the kitchen and threw down 2 paper bags on the table, causing both of them to snap out of their argument._

_"What the hell are you two arguing about?" Dean demanded._

_"Sam won't let me make my own decisions," Kate explained as she turned towards Dean all while pointing an accusing finger at Sam._

_"Yeah because they are the wrong ones! Getting accepted into the advanced math class isn't just something you pass up!" Sam argued. They both stared at Dean, just as they used to do when they were younger, waiting for him to take a side and solve their fight. Dean rubbed his hand over his face. He couldn't believe this was what they were fighting about. Of all the things in the world, this was the topic that got Sam all worked up and in a huff. Dean couldn't help but take Kate's side. Advanced math sounded like a fancy way to say torture._

_"Well, like she said, Sammy. She can make her own choices. Doesn't want Advanced math? Fine by me," he said as he opened up one of the brown bags and pulled out some fries. Kate threw Sam a victorious smile as he glared at both of his siblings and walked away._

Well, obviously something had changed after that fight and she had decided to take some of those nerd classes. He made a mental note to bring it up later and get the full story. He wasn't upset with her at all, but just didn't understand why she had kept it a secret.

Dean snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at the stage to see kids were finally walking across and receiving their diplomas. The end was near. The last row of students stood up and waited as the principal announced their names. Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out the disposable camera he had bought yesterday.

_…Katelyn Elizabeth Winchester…_

The room was quiet except for the loud cheer Dean let out as he stood up and snapped a few pictures of her accepting the diploma. Kate smiled when she heard his voice. He sounded like a crazy man, being the only one cheering and all, but that made it all the more comforting for her. There was nothing like knowing your brother had your back.

After the ceremony, Kate waited around outside until Dean had made his way out to her. When she finally spotted her brother, her face lit up. She held up her diploma and waved it around, smiling like a maniac until Dean got there.

"Congratulations, Katie," Dean said as he pulled her in for a hug.

"Thanks!" She couldn't take the grin off her face. She was just so happy to be done with school. No more changing from one to the other. No more being the new girl. Or trying to fit in. Or being made fun of. It was _finally_ over. She pulled back from the hug and noticed something in his hand. "You…_you_ have a camera?" she joked.

"Yeah, yeah…shut up," he playfully responded as he looked around for someone to take a picture for him. He saw a man standing nearby and he agreed to snap a few pictures for them.

Dean draped his arm over her shoulders as Kate held up her diploma between them and wrapped her other arm around him. They smiled as the man took the picture. A few shots later, including a few with crazy faces, Dean thanked the man and placed the camera back in his pocket.

As they were making their way back to the Impala, Kate looked over at her brother. "Well, I'm 18, legal, _and_ a high school graduate. Now you can't deny it!" she said smirking.

"Deny what?" Dean asked as they both stopped beside the Impala.

"That I'm all grown up now," she explained as she held her diploma up for extra emphasis.

"Nah, you wish. You're always gonna be little to me." Dean reached out and laid his hand on her shoulders as he pulled her in to his side. "You know I'm proud of you, right?" he asked as he continued holding her in at his side.

Kate took a moment to let the words sink in. There were two words that were pretty much _never_ used in her family: proud and love; even though they went unsaid, each of them knew how the other felt, but there was nothing like hearing it said out loud. She wrapped her arm around his waist and gave him a tight squeeze. "Yeah, I've always known," she replied softly.

He placed a kiss on the top of her head before giving her one last hug. "Okay, let's break up this click flick moment before I start growing lady parts," Dean joked as he went to unlock the passenger's side door. Kate just smiled. Leave it to her big brother to have to end things on a sarcastic note. But that's what made him _him_ in her mind.

Dean opened up the door—he could be a gentleman when he felt like it—and turned to his sister who was in the process of unzipping her white graduation gown. "Woah! Woah, zip that back up!" he said in a low voice as his eyes jolted around the parking lot to see if anyone was paying attention.

"Seriously, Dean? I _am _wearing a dress under this, you know. I think you're confusing porn and reality again," she replied as she finished unzipping and taking it off. She was wearing a light purple fitted—but not _too_ fitted per Dean's demands—dress whose sleeves laid just over her shoulders with a low-ish cut neckline and it came down to just above her knees. She was wearing a silver chained necklace that had a deep purple heart on the end that matched her earrings. Dean had let her pick out the entire outfit and thankfully they had agreed on everything being 'not slutty' in Dean's opinion and 'pretty' in Kate's. For once she felt confident and was excited to take off the 3X extra large graduation gown.

"Oh..uh..yeah," Dean stumbled out as Kate noticed his face turned a little red from embarrassment. Did he really think she was doing to take off her gown in public _without_ any clothes on underneath? Geesh.

Kate reached in and tossed her cap and gown in the backseat and was about to sit down when Dean spoke up and stopped her. "Hey, you, uh, you wanna drive?" He held up the keys.

Her eyes grew wide as she looked from Dean to the keys then back to Dean. "Is this gonna be like last time when I reached out for the keys and you pulled them away and yelled 'psych!'? Because if it is, then no. But if you're being for real…," she trailed off as she silently pleaded it was the latter.

"Hurry up and take them before I change my mind," he said as he pushed them closer to her. She happily snatched them and skipped her way over to the driver's side. Dean couldn't help but laugh as he got into the car.

"So where to, boss?" she asked as she started up the engine.

"Well, I was thinking a special occasion calls for a special dessert," Dean said with a smirk.

"Obviously. Ice cream!" Kate yelled.

"Pie!" Dean yelled at the same time. There was a slight pause.

"Or….pie _and_ ice cream!" Kate said excitedly, like she had just solved the world's largest problem or something.

"At that diner up the road…," Dean began.

"With the crazy lion on the sign!" Kate finished. They looked at each other and just laughed. "Gosh, I feel dumber already," she said as she started driving towards the exit.

"What are you even talking about? You graduated with honors!" Dean said through a chuckle.

Kate paused for a brief moment when she realized Dean had found out about the whole honors thing. She decided not to address that part just yet. That was going to be a conversation for another day, just not _to_day. "Well in case you didn't notice, we were just thinking the same thing. Like on the same wave length and everything. In other words, my IQ must have just bottomed out if I'm thinking like you," Kate explained as she threw a devilish grin over at her brother.

"Ha-ha, well I can't say I've gotten this far in life being a genius," Dean said as he glanced back over at her. "It's clearly from my insanely handsome good looks, something which you, little sister, didn't seem to inherit." Dean had that smirk plastered on his face, you know, the one that says "gotcha, I win".

Kate just rolled her eyes and focused back on the road, but she couldn't help but let out a laugh. Today was turning out to be even more special than she had originally thought. She had a huge decision weighing on her shoulder these last few weeks. She had two college acceptance letters stashed away deep inside her duffel in her tampon box—a place she knew Dean would _never_ look. She hadn't been able to decide what she was going to do. But after today, after hearing that loan cheer at graduation from Dean and spending these moments with him, it just hit her. She felt a huge weight get lifted off of her shoulders and she relaxed a little more. Life had made the decision for her and she knew it was the right one. There was no way she could leave her family. Not Dean. He was the only person in the world who had cared enough to raise her right. Cared enough to go to her graduation. Cared enough to _love_ her. To be _proud_ of her. To be her best friend. And she wasn't going to give that up. She needed him just as much as he needed her. And she wasn't about to walk out on him.


	27. Chapter 27

**I am sssoooo sorry for the huge delay in updating. I thought that being on break from school would give me more free time, but as it turns out, I was oh so wrong. I cannot thank you guys enough for sticking with me! You have no idea how much that means :) Special shout out to ispiltthemilk, sweetkiwi604, and SPNxBookworm for 'reminding' me to write some more Katie!**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I thought it was only fitting to write it based on summer. In other good news, this chapter is the longest one shot I have written so far, so I hope that helps make up for the delay! Please drop me a review and let me know what you think!**

**Enjoy :)**

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Dean-22

Sam-18

Kate-14

It was yet another hot summer afternoon in the midwest. The sun was bright as ever and it was impossible to escape the heat. The three Winchester siblings were cooped up in the latest crap motel room waiting for John to get back from his hunt so they could pack up and move to the next small town. Dean was sitting on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table watching tv with Kate sitting beside him, slouched down and clearly bored.

"Dude, it's summer and you already freaking _graduated_, so why the hell are you still reading?!" Dean asked as he threw a glance over to Sam who was sitting at the small table by the window engrossed in yet another book. He was on a mission to finish _The Odyssey_ today so he could return it to the library before they left.

"Some of us like to keep our brain cells functioning," Sam retorted without taking his eyes off his current page.

"Well I'm pretty sure my brain cells are roasting from this heat," Kate complained as she slid further down in her seat on the couch. There was nothing good on tv and nothing interesting to do in the motel room. John had insisted that this hunt was a quick one and there was no reason to bring everyone along, so they were stuck at the motel waiting for him to come back any day now. What they didn't know was that John wasn't on any kind of hunt at all. He was actually visiting his other son, Adam, and his old lover.

"Welcome to the Midwest, moron," Dean threw back as he began to click through the channels in search of something remotely interesting to watch.

"Yeah, well I think it would be more bearable if _someone_ hadn't felt the need to karatee kick the air conditioner!" Cue an evil glare being thrown at Dean.

"It's not my fault Sam moved out of the way!" Dean defended himself and returned Kate's glare. He was not about to be blamed for that.

"It's a good thing he did or you would have cracked HIM in half," Kate said. Just yesterday Sam and Dean had been messing around fighting and being stupid and ever since then, they'd had a broken air conditioner. Telling the hotel meant having to pay for it themselves, so suffering was their only option for now.

"Well see, you should be thanking me then," Dean began. Kate rolled her head along the couch to look over at him again. She furrowed up her eyebrows, having no idea where he was going with this. "_Thank_ me because I kicked the air conditioner instead of your stupid brother."

Kate let out a small laugh. "First, in order to kick my stupid brother, you'd have to kick yourself. And second, air contioning trumps family. Every time," she explained. At this point she was willing to sell BOTH of her kidneys if it meant they would have enough money to fix the AC.

"Well I guess we could just go pawn you off at that store up the street," Dean joked, flashing his classic, sideways grin. He would never admit it, but he was also deeply regretting his awful attempt at a Jet Lee kick. He was just as sweldering hot now as everyone else.

"Nah, you couldn't do that. I'm freaking priceless," Kate threw back at him as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her and started changing her clothes.

"Dude, you know how I got out of the way in time?" Sam asked, referring back to his last minute dodge of Dean's kick. He finally glanced up from his book and over to Dean.

"How's that, Sammy?" he asked.

"Cuz I'm a ninja." A small smirk spread across his face, clearly proud of his own cleverness. And with that he returned his attention back at his book.

"You wish," Dean mumbled while he went back to flipping through the channels.

Kate couldn't help but smirk as she overheard everything through the door. The heat was making her go crazy, but at least her brothers made for good entertainment.

* * *

A few minutes later Kate opened the door and walked out of the bathrom wearing one of Dean's old, black Metalica shirts that was still big on her so it went down to her mid-thigh.

"What the hell? Why are you always stealing my shirts?" Dean groaned.

"It's not stealing when you _gave_ it to me. Apparently eating too many pieces of apple pie makes ya get fat," Kate quipped. She went over to her duffle that was sitting on the bed and stuffed her clothes back in it.

"I'm not fat!" Dean mumbled in a low voice. He patted his gut as he tried to reassure himself, but quite frankly he didn't care because there was no way he was going to start turning down pieces of pie.

Sam glanced up over the top of his book that he was holding up in front of his face. He watched as Kate disappeared into the bathroom and came back out holding a towel.

"'Kay, I'll be back later," she announced as she started walking towards the room door.

"Uh, aren't you forgetting something," Sam questioned with raised eyebrows. She turned to him with a puzzled look. Dean's head turned to the side to see what was going on and he picked up on the same thing that Sam had: Kate's bare legs were showing.

"Dear god Kate. Put some damn pants on!" he barked out.

"I don't need pants, idiot. I'm going to the pool," Kate clarified while pulling up her shirt to show the bathing suit she had on underneath.

"Put that down! I don't need to be seeing your lady stuff," Dean groaned as he held his hand out in front of him, as if to shield something 'inappropriate' from his sight. Dean had coined the term 'lady stuff' to refer to anything related to his sister...under garments, girl 'products', lip gloss, bobby pins, even a hair brush was all 'lady stuff' to him.

"It's a bathing suit, not my freaking underwear," she retorted, putting her shirt back down. "Well I'm going to the pool and try to cool off before my body self implodes from heat stroke." She opened the door and started to walk out.

"Yeah, well try not to drown this time!" Dean jokingly shouted back at her, which caused her to stop halfway in the doorway.

"Oh like that one time? That was totally your fault!" Kate accused as she turned back to face Dean again.

"My fault?! I think you must have memory problems from that day because it was clearly Sam's fault," Dean said while he pointed and accusing finger at Sam.

Sam carefully placed a bookmark in his book and sat it down on the table before turning his attention to his siblings. "Wow your stupidity has reached astronomical levels, Dean. It was most definitely Kate's fault."

Not liking that she was now being blamed, Kate felt the need to settle this battle now. She took a step back into the room and closed the door behind her. "My fault?! I was 5!"

"Okay, okay. Let's just simply go over that day's events so then I can prove to you both, once again, that I am always right," Dean suggested. Both of his younger siblings nodded in agreement, each one equally assured that they were going to win the argument.

* * *

_It was a smouldering hot July day in Arizona. The three Winchester siblings were out of school for the summer, which meant they were crammed up in a motel room while their dad finished a case nearby. This motel's crap air conditioner was basically just taking outside air and blowing it inside their room and calling it "cool". Everyone was hot and antsy to just get out of the unbearable oven that was their room. _

_"De, I'm melting," little five year old Katie complained as she laid on the floor, finding that spot to be the 'coldest' in the entire room. _

_"Aaaahhhh," Sam said in relief as he felt a cold rush of air smack his face. He closed his eyes and took in the sweet feeling of happiness. _

_"Sammy! Shut the damn freezer door. And Katie. Enough complaining already," Dean bellowed from his spot on the bed. He didn't even need to look up from his magazine to know what they were doing. But in all of his 13 years, Dean had never been so miserable. He was just as hot and sticky as the next sibling and wanted to get out of this hell hole of a room, but John had been very strict when he said they were not to leave the room under any circumstances, other than an emergency of course. And a failing air conditioner was not an emergency in John's book. _

_"But Deaaaannnn," Sam whined, still taking in the cool breeze that escaped the freezer. He refused to close the door, but as Dean looked up from his magazine, Sam could already feel his glaze burn into him, ruining his short lived freezer pleasure ride. So he reluctantly closed the freezer door and hopped off the chair he had been standing on, being just 9 years old he had yet to hit his growth spurt. _

_"Why can't we go over there?" Katie asked. She repeatedly tapped the window with her finger as she pointed to the swimming pool that was on the other end of the motel. _

_"Because Dad said we had to stay in the motel room," Dean explained. _

_"But Dad's not even here!" Sam argued. He walked over and stood beside Katie as he also stared longingly out the window at the flowing and glistening body of water. _

_"So? We still have to listen to him!" Dean said, raising his voice a little. But Katie and Sam weren't ready to give in just yet. _

_"Why?" Katie pried. She would often go through phases were her favorite thing was to continually ask 'why', which in turn continually put Dean's patience to the test. _

_"Because Dad's in charge. That's why." Annoyance was clear in Dean's voice. _

_"But Dad said when he's gone that you're in charge, Dean," Sam argued. He had a very valid point, but Dean being in charge meant that he had to do what John said. _

_"Yeah, well, I still say no," Dean said in his 'that is final' voice that Sam immediately picked up on and his shoulders fell in defeat as he continued to stare out the window. _

_"I say yes!" Katie shouted back at Dean as she turned around and started jumping up and down. "Yes! Yes! Yyyyyes!" _

_Dean eyes narrowed as he tore his gaze away from his car magazine again and over to his two siblings. The wavy, brown curls were bouncing around on top of Katie's head as she continued her chant. Sam reached out and put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to get her to stop. He had heard the warning tone in Dean's voice and he didn't need Katie making him even more grumpy than he already was. Sam's first attempt at getting her to stop failed so he placed both hands on her shoulders to try and get her to stop bouncing around. She took it as a game and giggled as she tried to escape from him. Dean watched Sam lose his grasp on Katie and she took off running around the room, suddenly full of energy. He couldn't help but feel himself soften and he ended up caving in. "Okay, fine! But _nobody_ tells Dad," Dean said in a stern voice as he looked from Sam to Katie, especially the latter sibling because she had a tendency to just blab everything to their dad. _

_"Yay!" Katie and Sam both squealed as they hurried over to their bags to find something suitable to wear as a swimsuit. _

* * *

_Dean opened the door and Katie skipped on by him, a towel dragging behind her in one hand and the Saphire Barbie, sans clothes, that Sam had given her a few Christmases ago in the other hand. Dean left the door open for Sam as he trailed behind his little sister. When she finally got to the pool, she was in awe. "It's sssooo big!" she exclaimed. He passed by her as he went over to a nearby half broken plastic chair and threw his towel down on it. The pool was anything but big, but in her eyes it must have been like seeing the ocean. _

_"Let's get in!" she announced as she dropped her towel on the ground and walked over to the edge of the pool. Dean groaned as he bent down and picked up her carelessly discarded towel and tossed it on the chair. "Come on, De!" Katie pleaded. She looked back at her brother, eagerly waiting for his permission to get in. _

_"Woah, Katie. You're not getting in on this end," Dean explained as he pointed to the section of the pool in front of her that read '6 feet'. _

_"Why?" she pouted. _

_"Cuz you're not a good enough swimmer yet." Dean reached out for her free hand and then led her around to the other end of the pool where there were big steps that led into the shallow end. _

_"But you already teached me how to swim." It was true too. Earlier that summer John had agreed that it was time she learned how to swim and obviously had given the task to his older son instead of just doing it himself. But with her short attention span and rebelliousness, Dean had not been able to teach her as much as he had hoped to by this time. _

_"We still gotta practice more," he responded as he looked down at his sister. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when they both heard Sam's voice. _

_"Dean! Where's the sunscreen?" Sam yelled from the door of their room. With Katie it was always a battle for Dean to get her to put sunscreen on, but with Sam, he thought the sun would deep fry his skin without it and refused to walk outside until he had put it on. _

_"In my bag!" Dean yelled back. Sam disappeared inside the room in search of the bottle. _

_Katie kept pulling on Dean's hand as she tried to inch closer to the pool. He gave in and stepped closer with her. She put her right foot in the water on the first step and felt the coolness of the water. She looked up at her big brother and smiled giddily. "It's so cold!" she exclaimed happily as she slowly put her other foot on the step. Dean smiled down at her and was anxiously waiting to get in too. _

_"Dean!" Sam screamed a little too loudly. Dean groaned in annoyance as he held tighter onto Katie's hand so she couldn't go further into the water yet. He pulled his head up and looked across the motel at his brother's small figure standing in the room doorway. _

_"WHAT!" he yelled back, already annoyed. _

_"I can't find it!" Sam held up his hands, emphasizing his point that he was sunscreen-bottle-less. _

_"Well look harder," he responded. _

_"I already did! Can you just come find it?" Sam asked. He had ripped everything out of Dean's bag and didn't find anything. _

_"Fine!" he grumbled back. Sam was apparently incapable of following simple instructions. Dean pulled back on Katie's hand as a signal for her to get out of the water. _

_"No! Susie and me wanna swim," she whined as she held up her doll for him to see, but Dean's strength was no match for her and her feet ended up back on the cement surrounding the pool. _

_"Come on, we gotta go help Sammy," he said and began pulling her along, but she wiggled her hand out of his grasp and crossed her arms. _

_"No!" she screamed as she stompt her foot. Dean knew this attitude was on the verge of a full blown tantrum and he was not in the mood for that, so he relented. _

_"Fine, but listen. You will _sit_ here and wait for me to get back. Do NOT touch the water," Dean said sternly. He guided Katie over to the broken seat where their towels were resting. "This seat has your name on it. So sit and just wait," he instructed. _

_Katie slowly approached the seat and looked at it up and down. "But Dean, I don't see my name on it," she replied innocently. _

_He half laughed as he scooped her up and placed her on the chair. "I'll be right back." He gave her one last serious look before he took off quickly back towards the room. _

_Katie watched as Dean disappeared into the room and she started __swinging her legs back and forth as she patiently waited. For her, i_t seemed like an eternity had already passed. She stared out at the glistening water in front of her. The way the hot sun was reflecting off of the clear blue water was just mesmerizing. Katie looked up ahead and once she saw that neither brother were in sight, she slowly slid off of the chair and made her way to the edge of the pool. She knew she was standing at the end of the pool that Dean had said was off limits, but she just wanted to look, she wasn't going to swim. But after a few seconds of standing under the blazing sun, she couldn't resist the temptation of feeling the coolness of the water on her foot again, so she inched closer and reached her foot down so her toes were under the water. Feeling the cool relief, she decided she wanted more and bent her other leg slightly so she could sumurge her entire foot in the water. She giggled as she saw the ripples in the water around her foot. 

_All of a sudden a door slammed shut and it startled her. She gasped as she looked where the noise had come from, but the sudden movement caused her to lose her balance and she wiggled around as she tried to gain it back, but was not able to and went tumbling head first into the pool. She found herself floating to the top of the water and began to flail her arms around in an attempt to keep her head above water. She tried to yell for help, but instead, her mouth just filled up with water as she struggled. _

_Seconds after Dean had closed the motel room door and started walking towards the pool with a freshly sunscreened Sam, he heard the sound of a loud splash in the water. His stomach immediately fell and he knew something was wrong, so he took off running. When he arrived at the pool area, he saw the familiar brown hair bobbing up and down in the water as she tried to stay afloat. Without even a second thought, Dean instinctively dove into the pool and grabbed onto his sister within seconds. He swam over to the edge where Sam was nerviously waiting. Dean pushed Katie up and Sam helped pull her safely out and onto the cement. He then pulled himself up out of the pool and sat beside Katie and Sam. He quickly grabbed and turned her so she was facing him. He felt the panic settle in as he searched her face for any signs that she was hurt. She coughed a few times and expelled the built up water that she had swollowed. Dean patted on her back to help her get all of the water out. He immediatenly saw the worried look in her eyes as a few tears spilled over. _

_"De, I didn't mean to falled in," Katie said as a few more tears fell down her face. She instantly regretted giving in to the temptation of the glistening water and when she fell in and wasn't able to breath, she had never been so scared before. And now the feeling of coughing up water freaked her out even more. Dean noticed that she was starting to shake, so he pulled her in closely to him and wrapped his arms protectively around her. _

_"You're okay...everything is okay now," he comforted her, but he was really trying to comfort himself too._

* * *

"So I think we can all agree that it was Dean's fault," Kate said. She held a hand out towards him.

He threw both of his hands up in defense. "Me? Did you even listen to any of the story?! I'm the one who freaking _saved_ you!" Dean threw back.

"But if it wasnt for you leaving your adorable, little 5 year old sister alone, none of that would have happened. Aka it's your fault," she reasoned.

"Well I wouldn't have left you alone in the first place if sasquash over there had been able to find the damn sunscreen!" Dean argued. All eyes went over to Sam awaiting his response.

And without missing a beat, he said, "I would have found the sunscreen if you had told me where it actually was to begin with instead of sending me on a scavenger hunt through your bag!"

"You just should have known that by 'in my bag' I really meant that it HAD been there but then rolled off and onto the floor on the side of the bed! You just didn't know how to look right!" Dean defended.

Sam couldn't stop as the side of his lip curled up in a small smile. The stuff they found to argue about never ceased to surprise him. "Oh I'm sorry I couldn't understand what you meant. Guess I've never been fluent in dipshit." Kate and Dean couldn't help but smile too; it wasn't often that Sam said a swear word, that was usually Dean's job, but when he did it always managed to crack them up. "Anyway, like I said before, it was Kate's fault and no one else's."

"And how exactly am I to blame? I was a cute, innocent, little girl."

"You were the one who couldn't sit still for 30 seconds!" Sam retorted.

"Yeah, well Dean slammed the door that startled me!"

"Sam pushed past me to get out first!"

"Kate just had to dip her foot in the water!"

"Woah, woah, hold up!" Kate annouced as she held up her hands, signaling them to stop talking. When she was sure she had their attention, she started again, "It's obviously Dean's fault because he hadn't taught me to swim!"

"Hadn't taught you to swin?!" Dean blurted out as he stood up and pushed past Kate and opened up the door, but he paused instead of walking out. Suddenly he turned around and picked Kate up and flung her over his shoulder. "Let's go test that theory then, shall we?"

Dean took off walking towards the pool nearby as Kate continually protested by banging on his back with her fists all while she couldn't stop laughing. Not wanting to miss anything, Sam got up and followed along with them.

"Well, Sammy, let's see if she sinks or floats," Dean joked. Sam came up and stood facing Dean as he reached across and grabbed on to Kate's ankles. Dean then pulled Kate off of his shoulder and grabbed on to her wrists and she was left dangling like a bridge between her brothers.

"Guys! Stoooopppp!" she begged between her constant laughter. "Dean, you don't want this Metalica shirt to get wet!" she pleaded one last time.

"That's okay, doesn't fit me anyway, remember?" Dean smirked back at her. She continued to playfully struggle against them, but it was to no avail. Dean and Sam grinned at one another and Dean gave his little brother a nod towards the pool. They began to swing her back and forth and just as they let her go, Kate latched on to Dean's arm at the last second and caused him to lose his balance and a fully clothed Dean came tumbling into the pool along with her.

When they both came above the water, they looked up at Sam who was still standing there almost hunched over from laughing so hard. He loved how Dean's plan had back fired on him.

"Take that Dean!" Kate laughed with a triumphant smile.

"Katelyn Elizabeth! You know you can't do that!" Dean barked as he swam to the ledge. Kate and Sam's smiles fell and they were very taken back by the angry tone in his voice. She hadn't known he would be pissed off enough to use her _full_ name. Kate wasn't even sure what to respond, so she remained silent as she watched Dean pull himself up and out of the pool. He stood and looked back down at Kate with a scowl on his face. "You know you can't do that...unless we get Sam too!" He suddenly lunged at his younger brother and they both went tumbling into the pool.

Sam finally broke the surface of the water and shook his head to the side to get his hair out of his eyes and he instantly saw Kate treading water close by cracking up laughing. "You think that was funny?" he grinned at her. In 2 short strokes he was over by her and pushed down on her shoulders to dunk her under the water.

The laughter and fooling around in the pool continued all through the afternoon. The three siblings had not had such a carefree time together in months. All the problems they had had just washed away with each splash in the pool. They kept goofing around and even ending up playing a game of monkey in the middle with one of Dean's shoes. Sam couldn't help but soak it all in. He really did have two great siblings and would miss these few and far between, but great, moments. He knew that the end of summer was coming up faster than he wanted, but soon enough he would be saying goodbye to them and taking off for Stanford. But what Sam did not know was that this afternoon was going to be the last great memory he would have with his siblings because in just a mere 48 hours John would come back from his trip and would find out about Sam's college acceptance and that would lead to a fight that none of them would forget. But for now, they all had this afternoon to share and not one of them had a care in the world except for figuring out who they were going to dunk next.


	28. Chapter 28

**Hello everyone! I am so unbelievably sorry that it has taken me so long to update, but sadly it's doctor's orders :( I posted something about it in my profile so you guys wouldn't think I've abandoned you, but my profile is pretty lame, so I can't blame you if you never checked it out, haha. Anyway, my wrist is still on the mend and the nerves aren't wanting to cooperate just yet, but little by little I got this chapter typed up for you! Thank you so much for sticking with me and patiently waiting :) I don't know what I would do without each and every one of you who take the time to read my chapters!**

**Next order of business is since you readers are the best people out there, I want to make sure I am writing things you want to read! So if you have any ideas for things you want in a future chapter, throw them my way in a review or PM and I'll try to make it happen :)**

**So let's get on with the main event... a new chapter! I've been out of the writing game for awhile, but I hope this chapter is up to par with the rest. Don't forget to read and review to let me know what you thought! **

* * *

Dean-16  
Sam-12  
Katie-8

Katie stepped outside of the school building and squinted her eyes as the spring's sun rays smacked her face. She made her way over to the black, metal bench nearby, her designated "wait here for Sam and don't move until he comes" spot. After hopping up on the seat, Katie grumbled as she looked down at the top of her right hand. She quickly scanned the area around her for any nearby teachers and when she saw the coast was clear, she licked two of her fingers and started scrubbing furiously at the mark on her hand.

"Uh-oh! You're in trouble...," Sam mocked as he came up in front of his little sister. His sudden presence scared Katie and she quickly tried to cover up her hand by laying her other one on top of it.

"Nuh-uh," she threw back. She took up and began walking towards the gates, trying to ignore him. But in one quick stride, Sam was able to catch up with her and they continued walking.

"That's not even a word," Sam corrected.

"Yes it is!" Katie argued back, careful to keep her hand covered still.

"Then spell it," he challenged.

She slowly whispered the word to herself, carefully thinking about the answer before responding, "N-u-h...e?" she spelled, not quite confident in her answer, but threw in the _e_ at the end because lately all her spelling words seemed to have this silly silent _e_ at the end.

"Nope. It's impossible to spell because _it's not a word_!" he argued back.

Katie was about to make some retort, but decided against it. There was no point because Sam always made sure to get the last word in and show her that she was wrong. She looked up at her brother to see that he had his gaze fixated on the high school 2 blocks up ahead, where they always went after school to meet Dean. After much complaining from Sam that he was in 6th grade now and didn't need his big brother picking him up from school anymore, Dean finally relented and said they could walk the whole 4 blocks from the elementary/junior high to the high school alone.

She quickly licked her fingers again and started rubbing hard at the stupid, red mailbox stamp on the top of her hand. It was a system apparently all teachers used at this elementary school. When they sent a student home with an important note for their parents, they put a nice, big, red stamp on their hand at the very last second before they went home so their parents would know. And Katie knew she had to make this thing disappear fast.

"That's not going to work, you know," Sam informed her. She shot him an evil glare before returning her focus on her hand. She had managed to rub part of the mailbox image into a big, red blob. However, her plan didn't seem to be working fast enough, so she took the hem of her shirt and went to work again.

"What did you do anyway?" he asked, suddenly taking an interest, being the nosy brother he was.

"Nothing," she responded flatly.

"Obviously you did something, otherwise your teacher wouldn't have sent a letter home and put that stamp there." Sam reached down and grabbed on to her wrist, holding up her hand as proof that he wasn't wrong. Katie looked up ahead as they were now approaching the school, and saw Dean walk out of the front doors. She instinctively ripped her wrist from Sam's grasp. She tried shoving it in her pockets, but her hand wouldn't fit all the way. And the warm weather lately had kept her from having a jacket, so there was no option to hide it in her sleeves. She did the last thing she could think of and crossed her arms as they waited at the end of the sidewalk for Dean.

"Don't tell Dean...pleeease, Sammy," she pleaded with her big, green eyes. Sam could never figure out why she thought the whole puppy dog look would work on_ him_.

He let out a small huff before answering, "Fine. But he's gonna find out. He always does."

Dean walked up beside his siblings just in time to catch the last part of what Sam had said, so he was immediately on alert. There was no point in asking them what was going on because that would get him no where...he knew he just had to wait and the secret would come out on its own, especially when it was with Katie. She hadn't exactly acquired the 'sly' trait yet.

"Hey," Dean interjected as he slapped his hand on Sam's back. He didn't miss for a second the deer-caught-in-headlights-look on his sister's face and her crossed arms. "Ready?" he asked as he nodded towards the direction their run down motel was located.

Katie quickly shook her head and took off walking with her brothers trailing behind. "Slow down...where's the freaking fire?" Dean yelled up ahead at his sister.

She stumbled slightly as she turned around to answer him, trying not to slow down her pace. "I..uh...I just really gotta go potty."

Dean threw his brother a confused glance, but Sam just shrugged his shoulders. He didn't feel like getting involved this time.

* * *

Once they had entered the motel room, Katie went directly for the bathroom. She had to get to that sink so she could wash the stamp off of her hand. Dean stared at her weirdly as she essentially waddled her way so the bathroom door with her arms still crossed. Out of pure reflex, she reached up to open the door with her right hand, making the half mailbox-half red smudge visible. Realizing her mistake, she quickly opened the door and thought she was home free as she began to close it, but something, or rather someone, blocked it.

Without missing a beat, Dean said, "So, get any cool tattoos lately?"

Katie tried to dodge his glance by looking at the floor and awkwardly trying to hide her hand behind her back now. "No..." She began moving her foot back and forth over a dark black stain on the floor.

Dean may not have been no rocket scientist, but the whole acting awkward, well more awkward than normal, fidgeting, and not making eye contact were all the classic signs that something was going on that she didn't want him to know about. After seeing the red blob on her hand, he knew what it meant. He remembered when they first moved to this new school that Sam came home complaining how the entire Kindergarten through 6th grade had the same stupid policy about some red stamp of a mailbox.

"You sure?" he gave her one last chance before he'd bring out his secret weapon. She replied nodding her head. "Okay, then, cuz I know Dad's gonna call us today and I'd hate to have to tell him someone got a letter sent home from school..." Dean might have threatened on occasion to tell their dad things, but it was only to get his siblings to come clean quicker. He would never actually rat them out to John about anything, he knew better; that would never end well for neither him or his siblings. But for the time being, Katie still hadn't caught on to that little fact that it was an empty threat.

When she heard the mention of their dad, her eyes shot up and Dean knew he had her. "Fine...Mrs. Hines sent home a letter...but I wasn't bad!" she said as she held up her hand to prove her point.

"Well how about I'll be the judge of that." Dean moved out of the doorway to let his sister pass by as she went over to open up her backpack that she had left discarded at the foot of the bed.

"Told you he'd figure it out," Sam mocked from his place on the couch. Instead of turning on the tv, he had been listening in to their conversation, figuring it was going to be more entertaining anyway-well, that and he was curious about the letter too.

Katie pulled out a white envelope with _To the parents of Katie Winchester_ written on it. She looked up at Dean, who was now sitting at the edge of the bed, and before handing it to him, she begged, "Pleeeeease don't tell Dad. Dean, please."

"Maybe," he replied, holding out his hand as she slowly forked it over. Sam just rolled his eyes. He knew better, Dean wasn't going to tell their dad no matter how bad it was. Dean pulled out the letter and the room fell silent as he read it. He neatly folded it back up and put it back inside the envelope.

"So, what's this about you not turning in a history project? Your teacher said you've had 2 weeks to do it. Why is this the first I'm hearing about it?" he asked. Sam audibly gasped, earning him an annoyed glare from his brother. To Sam, not doing your homework was the equivalent of a criminal offense.

"I'm sorry...it's just..I couldn't do it alone and I couldn't ask nobody for help," she responded as she began playing with the hem of her shirt.

"And since when can't you ask me or that nerd freak over there for help?" Dean quickly tried to rack his brain for any reason why he would not have been available to help her these last 2 weeks and couldn't come up with any.

"Cuz you said I'm not allowed to ask you about it," she replied, as if that response should have explained it all.

"What the hell are you even talking about? What is this project even about?" Dean responded, a little harsher than he had intended. Now greatly intrigued by this whole conversation, Sam came over and sat down on the bed beside Dean, waiting to see what was going to happen next. Katie let out an exasperated sigh and reached down to pull out a blue folder from her backpack. Once she retrieved the paper she was looking for from the back of the folder, she pulled it out. It was a long piece of construction paper folded up in half.

Katie unfolded it gently and held it up in front of her brothers. "See? It's a family tree project. We're supposed to write the names of our grandpas and everything. And I couldn't do it because I don't no none of their names. And Dad doesn't like it when I ask about our family, so I just didn't do it. I didn't want Dad to yell at me for asking about them." Dean stared dumbfounded at the yellow construction paper. The teacher had pre-made them, so the lines were all drawn in. There were just spaces for each student to write the names and draw pictures of their siblings, parents, and grandparents. When her brother didn't say anything, she added, "I didn't mean to be bad, Dean."

Dean looked over slowly to Sam, and they both had the same sad and guilty look on their faces. Sad because their sister thought talking about their family was a sin and she had to sidestep around John about everything; guilty because they had never done anything about it before.

"You weren't bad, Katie," Dean responded gently as he laid the letter down on the bed and reached out to grab the family tree chart. "Just cuz Dad says you can't talk about our family, doesn't mean we think the same thing." Sam nodded his head in agreement. Katie let out a loud breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She was just relieved that nobody was mad at her. "You know what I think?" She looked at him, anxiously waiting for the answer. "I say we head over to that table there," he pointed to the kitchen, "and we finish up this project right now."

"Really?" Katie asked, disbelief clear in her voice that he was so eager to help her.

"Yeah. Right Sammy?" Dean stood up, followed by Sam who gave his sister a reassuring smile.

* * *

Once they got settled in at the table, Katie had her pencil in her hand, ready to work. Sam and Dean had their chairs pulled up on either side of her. "Look! I started doing it, but that's all the names I knew." She pointed to the 4 spaces she had filled in. _Sammy...Dean...Katie...Sir_.

"Uh, Katie, why did you write 'sir'?" Dean asked, pointing to it on the chart.

"Cuz the teacher said we can't write Dad or Mom. We gots to write their real name."

"You do know that 'sir' is _not_ Dad's name, right?" Sam responded, shocked that she had even thought that to begin with.

"Yeah-huh. When Dad gets mad, he calls me Katelyn and you, Samuel! Cuz that's our real names. And then we call him 'Sir', cuz that's his real name too," she explained.

Dean ran his hand over his face. Why did his family have to be so messed up that his little sister would think that 'Sir' was their father's real name? It might as well be, because lately they were calling him 'sir' more than they were 'dad' due to his more than normal grumpy mood.

"Dad's real name is John," Sam interjected, drawing Dean out of his thoughts. Katie quickly turned to Dean, waiting for his confirmation or denial of the news that Sam had just revealed. He just nodded his head, telling her Sam was right.

"So I should call Dad 'John' now and not 'sir'?"

"Uh..no...," Dean began, trying to figure out how he was going to explain this in terms an 8 year old would understand. "Don't call Dad 'John'..he doesn't like that name...uh, you should just keep calling him 'sir'...that's like his nickname...he likes that better than his real name." Dean sighed when he saw her nod her head, showing him she understood. Just file this conversation under the 'proof that our family is messed up'.

Sam helped spell out "John" so Katie could make sure she got all of the letters right. Next they moved over to the square that was beside John's. Sam and Dean fell silent because they both knew whose name was going to go there, their mom's.

"De, what was Mommy's name?" she asked innocently.

"It was...Mary...Mary," he responded quietly. Sam, once again, helped her spell the name and they were both thankful when she didn't ask any more questions about her and moved on.

"I gotta write my 2 grandpas and 2 grandmas names," Katie informed her brothers as she pointed to the 4 squares left on the 'family tree'. She looked over at Sam expectantly waiting for an answer and he just shrugged his shoulder, having no idea what to tell her. She looked to her other side and stared at Dean.

"Uh...I have no idea," he replied honestly. "But you know what, who cares. I say we make up our own grandparents!" Dean tried to sound excited so she would go along with his idea, even though quite frankly he felt weird deep down inside because he had no idea what his grandparents names were.

"Okay!" she replied joyfully. "I think our grandpa should be...hmm...Bobby!" She burst into a giggling fit at thinking of their dad's friend Bobby as their grandpa. Her laughter was so contagious that Sam and Dean started laughing too.

"Well, just don't let him know you said that!" Dean joked.

"And a grandma?" she asked. They all looked around the room, trying to find something to help inspire their naming game because the list of women they actually knew was very limited.

Sam spotted an object up on the ceiling. "Fan," he suggested.

"Fan?" Dean questioned, chuckling.

"Fan...uh...Fanny?" Sam tried again.

"Fanny!" Katie cheered in approval and began to write the name down.

As they moved on to the last 2 names, Dean got up and went to the fridge and pulled out the other half of a hamburger he had from last night. He sat back down, unwrapped it, and began chowing down.

"A hamburger for a snack?" Sam asked.

"Yup, I'm a growing boy after all...something you wouldn't know much about, midget," Dean quipped as he took another big bite.

"What about our other grandma?" Katie questioned, drawing their attention back to the task at hand.

"Samantha!" Dean yelled, flashing his infamous sideways grin.

Katie laughed, loving the idea. "Sammy has a girl's name!" She immediately picked up her pencil and Dean helped her write the name, even with Sam's disapproving look. "And now grandpa!" Katie smiled, excited she was almost done.

They paused again, lost in their own thoughts of coming up with a good name. Finally Sam spoke up, "Angus."

Dean looked at him confused as he took another bite. He chewed slowly as he followed Sam's gaze to his hamburger wrapper sitting on the table that said _100% Angus Beef_ and laughed. "Angus," he confirmed. Just as Katie had finished writing the name, the motel phone rang once and stopped, and then started ringing again. They all knew it was their dad. Dean made his way over and answered.

"Hey Dad...yeah we're fine..how the hu...uh, business?" Dean luckily caught himself before saying the real word. Katie hopped off of her seat and hurriedly made her way to Dean. She stared up at him with, worried that he might tell their dad about what she did. "No, uh, everything is good here...No, sir, no problems at all...," he spoke into the phone. Katie smiled and wrapped her arms around Dean's waist, silently thanking him for keeping it a secret.

Out of natural instinct, Dean started pushing at her to get her off of him. He was _never_ one for hugs. Taking a hint from Dean's shoving, Katie let go and went to her backpack and grabbed the 6 crayons she owned out of it before going back to the kitchen table.

"You wanna help me color it?" she asked, holding up a green crayon for Sam. He chuckled as he grabbed it and began to color the 'tree'. He remembered the days in first and second grade when there wasn't a week that went by when a homework assignment didn't involve coloring.

Katie's head shot up as she heard the familiar _click_ of the phone being hung up. "De, come help us color!" she shouted without taking her eyes off of the paper.

Dean watched as his sister was deeply focused on her coloring and his brother was just haphazardly coloring the surrounding leaves on the tree and he couldn't help but smile. He may or may not have a grandma named after a ceiling fan and a grandpa who shared a name with his favorite hamburger, but none of it mattered because the only family he knew, and even cared to know, was the family that was sitting right in front of him. And he would do anything to make sure that they stayed a family forever.


End file.
